COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Aerials: Planning Permission

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations she has received regarding planning law as it affects telecommunications masts.

Meg Munn: Since 1 January 2007 I have answered four parliamentary questions relating to planning and telecommunications and received 21 letters from MPs on this subject. I have not had any external meetings to discuss this issue in the corresponding time period.
	In addition, my officials have dealt with a number of queries on this issue from members of the public and have attended a meeting of the Electronic Communications Working Group at which representatives of the telecommunications industry were present. The meeting was one in an ongoing series of meetings to discuss issues of mutual interest.

Care Homes: Conditions of Employment

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps have been taken to enforce Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) protection for residential home staff transferred from local government to private employment; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Subject to certain qualifying conditions, the "Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006" apply when a business or undertaking, or part of one, is transferred to a new employer; or when a 'service provision change' takes place (for example, where a contractor takes on a contract to provide a service for a client from another contractor).
	These two circumstances are jointly categorised as 'relevant transfers'. Once a relevant transfer has occurred if any employee considers that their contractual rights have been infringed they may be able to seek redress through the civil courts or the employment tribunals.

Council Tax: Second Homes

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will bring forward proposals to amend the system of council tax to allow for the levying of a local supplement on council tax for second homes in areas where they represent a significant proportion of housing.

Phil Woolas: We have already given local authorities flexibility to reduce the council tax discount offered on second homes to 10 per cent. In 2005-06 that raised an additional £92 million to spend on local priorities. We have no plans to make further changes.

Fire Services: Radio

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her latest estimate is of the level of coverage by percentage landmass and signal strength provided by the Firelink digital radio system  (a) in each fire service and  (b) by region; and if she will place in the Library a map detailing such information.

Angela Smith: Once the Firelink service is fully rolled out the contract will provide coverage averaging 98 per cent. in England, 95 per cent. in Wales and 88 per cent. in Scotland, which is less populated and more mountainous. The following tables list the contracted coverage by fire and rescue service area and by region. These modelled forecasts will be validated through tests in each fire and rescue service prior to Firelink becoming operational.
	A map of Great Britain highlighting the extent of guaranteed coverage from Firelink per FRS boundary has also been supplied and will be placed in the Library as requested.
	
		
			  FRS  Percentage covered 
			 Avon 98.73 
			 Bedfordshire 99.71 
			 Berkshire 98.39 
			 Buckinghamshire 99.13 
			 Cambridgeshire 99.78 
			 Central Scotland 91.20 
			 Cheshire 99.12 
			 Cleveland 98.94 
			 Cornwall 97.83 
			 Cumbria 90.19 
			 Derbyshire 98.78 
			 Devon 95.32 
			 Dorset 98.65 
			 Dumfries and Galloway 88.90 
			 Durham 98.88 
			 East Sussex 98.31 
			 Essex 99.75 
			 Fife 99.08 
			 Gloucestershire 98.11 
			 Grampian 97.81 
			 Greater London 99.94 
			 Greater Manchester 99.16 
			 Hampshire 99.02 
			 Hereford and Worcester 99.02 
			 Hertfordshire 99.70 
			 Highlands and Islands 73.92 
			 Humberside 98.96 
			 Isle of Wight 99.30 
			 Kent 99.48 
			 Lancashire 96.93 
			 Leicestershire 99.68 
			 Lincolnshire 99.50 
			 Lothian and Borders 96.51 
			 Merseyside 99.88 
			 Mid and West Wales 95.36 
			 Norfolk 99.87 
			 North Wales 92.10 
			 North Yorkshire 92.49 
			 Northamptonshire 98.60 
			 Northumberland 93.36 
			 Nottinghamshire 99.81 
			 Oxfordshire 99.62 
			 Shropshire 98.80 
			 Somerset 93.49 
			 South Wales 99.43 
			 South Yorkshire 97.18 
			 Staffordshire 99.48 
			 Strathclyde 89.17 
			 Suffolk 99.85 
			 Surrey 99.61 
			 Tayside 71.37 
			 Tyne and Wear 99.96 
			 Warwickshire 99.93 
			 West Midlands 99.99 
			 West Sussex 99.66 
			 West Yorkshire 98.47 
			 Wiltshire 97.66 
		
	
	
		
			  Firelink region  Percentage covered 
			 South West 96.65 
			 South East 99.22 
			 London 99.94 
			 East of England 99.81 
			 West Midlands 99.31 
			 East Midlands 99.32 
			 North East 95.72 
			 North West 94.39 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 95.26 
			 Wales 94.94 
			 South West Scotland 89.08 
			 South East Scotland 95.48 
			 North East Scotland 85.49 
			 Highlands and Islands 73.92 
			  Note: In practice, coverage may be higher than contracted values for technical reasons. The signal strength varies due to the distance from the radio base station and other environmental factors. For the values generated in the above tables, the signal strength will range from -40dBm in the close proximity to a transmitter to a level of -103dBm at the edge of the radio cell.

Government Office for London

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the budget was of the Government office for London in each year between 1997 and 2006; and how many civil servants were employed by that office in each year.

Phil Woolas: The Government office for London's running cost expenditure is as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Year  Budget  Status 
			 1998-99 16.0 Outturn 
			 1999-2000 16.0 Outturn 
			 2000-01 14.7 Outturn 
			 2001-02 13.2 Outturn 
			 2002-03 14.1 Outturn 
			 2003-04 16.7 Outturn 
			 2004-05 18.9 Outturn 
			 2005-06 18.5 Outturn 
			 2006-07 17.6 Outturn 
			 2007-08 16.4 Budget 
		
	
	Figures for 1996-97 and 1997-98 are not held.
	The Government office for London staff in post figures from 1997 are as follows:
	
		
			  As at April  Number 
			 1997(1) 274 
			 1998(1) 305 
			 1999 390 
			 2000 370 
			 2001 240 
			 2002 260 
			 2003 288 
			 2004 325 
			 2005 308 
			 2006 303 
			 2007(1) 268 
			 (1) March figures

Holocaust Memorial Day

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent on Holocaust Memorial Day in each year since its institution; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The UK Holocaust Memorial Day was first held in January 2001 and has since been held on 27 January every year. Up to 2005, the responsibility for delivering Holocaust Memorial Day lay with the Home Office, working in conjunction with the Department for Education and Skills and a wide range of individuals and organisations involved in Holocaust remembrance and education and other related issues. The approximate spending for 2002-04 was £280,000
	In 2005 the responsibility for organising the Holocaust Memorial Day was passed over to the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT). The HMDT receives a £500,000 annual grant from Communities and Local Government. This grant enables the HMDT to deliver the Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration event, on behalf of the Government, and also a year long programme with local communities on the lessons learnt from the Holocaust and its continuing relevance today.

Local Authorities: Complaints

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many complaints the local government ombudsman with responsibility for the North of England received in each of the last five years against local authorities, broken down by local authority; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: This information has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Administration of Justice: Freemasonry

Tony Wright: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what provisions exist for  (a) magistrates,  (b) judges and  (c) members of tribunals to declare freemasonry membership on appointment.

Harriet Harman: Applicants for the lay magistracy are required to declare whether or not they are freemasons. Those recommended for appointment, or appointed by, the Lord Chancellor to a judicial office in the courts and tribunals for the first time are also required to declare whether or not they are freemasons.

Care Homes: Human Rights

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will bring forward measures to extend the protections of the Human Rights Act 1998 to residents of care homes who are  (a) publicly and  (b) privately or self-funded.

Vera Baird: Under the Human Rights Act 1998 it is unlawful for a public authority to act incompatibly with the Convention rights. For these purposes a "public authority" includes any person or body who is exercising functions of a public nature. Local authorities have a statutory duty to make arrangements for the provision of care and accommodation to those in need of it by reason of age, illness or disability. Individuals who are assessed to be in need of care may be placed in a care home run by the local authority itself, but many are placed in homes run by private providers. Those who are placed in care homes by local authorities (including homes that are privately run) can enforce their rights against the local authority because the authority is clearly a "public authority" for the purposes of the Human Rights Act.
	My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs is planning to intervene in a case which will be heard by the House of Lords on 30 April 2007 to clarify whether a private care home provider is also a "public authority" for the purposes of the Human Rights Act when it provides accommodation and care to residents who have been placed there by a local authority. If that is found to be the case, then residents who are placed by local authorities in private care homes will be able directly to enforce their rights against a private care home provider.
	The Government have no plans to extend the coverage of the Human Rights Act to self-funded residents of care homes, since the Act does not apply to relationships which do not engage public functions.

Civil Proceedings: Equal Pay

Stephen Byers: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will take steps  (a) to ensure that agreements entered into between solicitors and their clients in equal pay cases do not undermine the securing of a mediated settlement and  (b) to stop solicitors imposing a financial penalty on their clients in non-contentious cases.

Bridget Prentice: The regulation of agreements between solicitors and their clients is a matter for the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). The SRA has strict rules about the information that solicitors should give to their clients about costs and all other charges; and about setting out the options for settling their disputes. Solicitors are also under a duty to act in the best interests of their clients.
	Concerns about the conduct of solicitors in equal pay cases, or any other type of case, should be brought to the SRA's attention.

Coroners

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what public rights of access there are to written material used in the proceedings of coroners' inquests; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: All inquests are held in public unless the coroner considers that it would be in the interest of national security to exclude the public. The press often attend inquests and report details but there is no public right of access to written material used in inquests.

Law: Students

Dai Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what discussions her Department has had with the Law Society on the funding of legal studies students.

Bridget Prentice: While there have been no specific discussions between the Law Society and my Department on this topic, I am aware that there are a number of different methods of funding for legal studies students.
	These include bursaries from the Law Society, bank loans or career development loans and sponsorship from solicitors' firms.

Legal Aid

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of solicitors firms which were unable to complete the new unified contract for legal aid as of 1 April 2007.

Vera Baird: The Legal Services Commission (LSC) extended the deadline for signature to 2 April 2007. As of 3 April, approximately 2,390 of 2,532 unified contracts had been signed and returned to the LSC by civil providers. This represents 97 per cent. of not- for-profit organisations and 94 per cent. of solicitors. Overall, 5 per cent. of providers did not sign. There are also likely to be many more sub-contractors who are not required to sign the unified contract, but who provide legal aid services.
	That a small proportion of providers declined to sign is not unusual, as it is normal for there to be some degree of turnover when new contracts are introduced. The LSC will shortly be providing details of a new civil bid round as part of the Community Legal Service Strategy for improving access to joined up services.

Legal Aid

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of solicitors who will cease taking on legal aid work in each of the next three years.

Vera Baird: A consultation recently closed for criminal legal aid, which included consideration of whether a minimum contract size should be introduced. No decision has yet been taken, but should a minimum contract size be implemented, it will have the effect of reducing the number of firms undertaking criminal legal aid work.
	During the most recent contracting round, at the beginning of April 2007, 94 per cent. of solicitors providing civil legal aid services signed and returned their contracts indicating their wish to continue taking on legal aid work.

Welfare Tax Credits: Fraud

David Laws: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many county court judgments were made against recipients of tax credits in respect of their claims for credits in each of the last 24 months.

Harriet Harman: Information on the number of county court judgments made against recipients of tax credits in respect of their claims for credits in each of the last 24 months is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Digital Broadcasting

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport by what methods those eligible for the targeted assistance scheme for the digital switchover have been identified in  (a) the UK and  (b) Cheadle constituency.

Shaun Woodward: Targeted assistance will be available to all households with one person aged 75 or over or with a severe disability or registered partially-blind or registered partially-sighted. The Digital Switchover (Disclosure of Information) Bill is currently going through Parliament. If this becomes law, the operator of the Digital Switchover Help Scheme will use Department for Work and Pensions and local authority databases to identify those eligible.

Food: Advertising

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her Department's policy is on a voluntary ban on advertising unhealthy foods near schools.

Shaun Woodward: At present there are no rules governing the advertisement of food and soft drink products near schools. However, the Government would always encourage individual companies to show responsibility in choosing where to place adverts.
	The industry self regulated non-broadcast advertising rules, relating to the advertising of food and soft drink products to children, were recently strengthened by the Committee for Advertising Practice (CAP) we welcome this commitment by the industry to protect the health of our children. The Government are also committed to monitoring the impact of these and other measures, across all media, in changing the nature and balance of food promotion to children.

Gambling Act 2005

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what process has been put in place to enable Ministers to  (a) exercise political oversight and  (b) monitor the progress of the implementation plan for the Gambling Act 2005;
	(2)  on what dates since the start of 2007 she has received reports on the progress of the implementation plan for the Gambling Act 2005.

Tessa Jowell: My Department has put in place a robust programme management and reporting structure to support implementation of the Gambling Act 2005.
	In addition to formal progress reports, the most recent of which was provided in March 2007, Ministers hold regular meetings with officials on key implementation matters.
	Ministers also hold quarterly meetings with the Chair and Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission as well as frequent meetings with representatives of industry, local government, and other key stakeholders. Officials also chair a number of stakeholder groups including quarterly meetings of the Community Liaison Group and Industry Liaison Group, as well as a monthly communications group to address application rates and other issues arising during the transitional period.
	It remains the Government's intention to bring the Gambling Act fully into force by 1 September 2007.

Gambling: Licensing

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assumptions her Department has made on the number of applications for operator licences under the Gambling Act 2005 that will be made by the end of April 2007 deadline by existing operators in order to secure continuation rights; and how many such applications the Gambling Commission has received, broken down by category of licence.

Tessa Jowell: The Gambling Commission's estimated number of existing operators who, in order to secure continuation rights, are encouraged to apply for an operating licence to the Gambling Commission by 27 April is approximately 2,400. At 20 April 885 operating licence applications had been made, which equates to about 37 per cent. of that estimate. However, the number of operators does not necessarily equate to the number of applications that will be received.
	All operators are entitled to make applications after 27 April and the Gambling Commission will process them in time for 1 September.
	The breakdown of non-remote operating licence applications received to 20 April by sector is:
	
		
			  Non remote operator category  Applications received by 20 April 2007 
			 Casinos 25 
			 Bingo 28 
			 General betting 485 
			 Pool betting 0 
			 Betting intermediary 1 
			 Adult gaming centres 124 
			 Family entertainment centres 25 
			 Gaming machines 19 
			 Gambling software 1 
			 Lottery managers 2 
			 Society lotteries 7 
			 Total non-remote 717 
		
	
	The breakdown of remote operating licence applications received to 20 April by sector is:
	
		
			  Remote operator category  Applications received by 20 April 2007 
			 Casinos 1 
			 Bingo 0 
			 General betting 7 
			 Pool betting 2 
			 Betting intermediary 1 
			 Gaming machines 0 
			 Gambling software 1 
			 Lottery managers 1 
			 Society lotteries 0 
			 Total remote 13 
		
	
	Not yet allocated—155

Licensed Premises

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many licensed premises are still to receive a paper licence in  (a) Guildford,  (b) Surrey and  (c) England; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: This information is not held centrally. Feedback from stakeholders suggests only a small number of licences remain to be issued.

Licensed Premises: Recycling

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of the  (a) cost and  (b) environmental effect of using plastic glasses in licensed premises; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The Department has made no assessment of the costs or environmental impact of using plastic drinking vessels. It is for individual licensed premises to decide whether to use alternatives to glassware.
	The use of plastic containers and toughened glass can help promote the licensing objectives of public safety and the prevention of crime and disorder. However, as the Secretary of State's guidance to licensing authorities makes clear, such conditions should only be imposed where necessary and should take into account factors such as the location, style of the venue and the activities carried on there.

Licensing Laws

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment her Department has made of the conclusions of the Licensing Review Panel; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: We are continuing to assess all of the panel's detailed conclusions and recommendations and will provide a response in due course. Before reaching a final decision on any changes to the fees regime and related issues, we will undertake a full public consultation so all stakeholders have the opportunity to inform future policy.

Licensing Laws

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what mechanisms exist under the Licensing Act 2003 to review the licence of licence holders charged with offences who do not declare that they hold a licence at the time of the legal proceedings.

Shaun Woodward: holding answer 20 April 2007
	 Under the 2003 Act, it is the responsibility of a personal licence holder when charged with a relevant offence to inform the court he holds a personal licence and to produce it to the court. If he fails to do so, without reasonable excuse, the defendant commits an offence under the Act and on conviction, he would be liable to a fine of up to £500. This offence is also a "relevant offence" under Schedule 4 to the Act and therefore, on conviction, the court would be able to consider either suspension or forfeiture of the personal licence.

Olympic Games: Security

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what her latest estimate is for the cost of policing during the Olympic Games in 2012;
	(2)  how much of the additional £600 million of security costs for the 2012 Olympics she announced in her statement to the House on 15 March 2007 is to be allocated to  (a) on-site security,  (b) wider security and  (c) policing costs during the Games themselves;
	(3)  if she will break down the additional £600 million of security costs for the 2012 Olympics announced in her Statement to the House on 15 March 2007;
	(4)  what her latest estimate is of the cost of policing during the Olympic Games in 2012.

Tessa Jowell: I refer the hon. Member to the statement I made to the House on 15 March 2007,  Official Report, column 450, on progress towards the Olympic Games and the Paralympics in 2012. This included reference to an allocation of £600 million, within the overall budget, for wider security, on top of the Olympic Delivery Authority budget for site security. This figure also excludes the cost of security inside the venues during the Games, which is the responsibility of the London Organising Committee.
	The Home Office and Olympic Security Co-ordinator are developing and costing the security planning and operation for London 2012. This will be published when appropriate.

Olympic Games: Security

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total estimated cost to the Metropolitan Police is of controlling any increase in crime during the Olympic Games in 2012.

Tessa Jowell: The Home Office and Olympic Security Co-ordinator are developing and costing the security and planning operation for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012, including the costs for the Metropolitan Police. This will be published when appropriate.

Television: Licensing

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how many people are employed to gather data and update the Television Licensing database;
	(2)  what the total cost is of equipping a single television detector van;
	(3)  what percentage of receipts from the television licence fee was spent on the detection of licence evaders in the last period for which figures are available.

Shaun Woodward: The BBC has statutory responsibility for the administration of the television licensing system and TV Licensing carries out the day to day administration under contract to the Corporation. I have therefore asked the BBC's Head of Revenue Management to consider the questions raised by the hon. Member and to write direct to him. Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Detainees

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what resources were allocated by his Department to Conduct After Capture training in each of the last six years; and what personnel were allocated to providing this training over the same period, broken down by grade;
	(2)  he will make a statement on the Conduct After Capture training provided by the armed forces; and how many of those hostages recently released from Iranian custody received Conduct After Capture training;
	(3)  which parts of the Armed Forces receive Conduct After Capture training; and how many members of the armed forces received such training in each of the last six years.

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what  (a) instructions and  (b) training are given to armed forces personnel in preparation for the possibility that they may find themselves held against their will by a foreign power or hostile organisation.

Des Browne: holding answer 19 April 2007
	 UK military personnel receive different levels of training into Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Extraction (SERE) techniques depending on their mission. Personnel who are at greater risk of capture receive enhanced training. I am withholding details on the specific nature of the training because this would, or would be likely, to prejudice the capacity, effectiveness and security of our armed forces.
	I announced on 16 April 2007,  Official Report, columns 23-26, that Lieutenant General Sir Rob Fulton Royal Marines will lead an inquiry into the recent incident in which Iran illegally detained 15 UK service personnel. This inquiry will examine SERE training alongside the other operational aspects of the incident. It would therefore be inappropriate for me to comment further until this inquiry is complete.

Armed Forces: Housing

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 13 February 2007,  Official Report, column 203W, on armed forces: housing, which personnel are included in the group 'other'.

Derek Twigg: The breakdown of 'other' occupancy of single living accommodation is as follows:
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 Defence Equipment and Support 49 
			 Centre TLB 45 
			 Commander Joint Operations 6 
		
	
	A breakdown of 'other' occupancy of service families accommodation is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Mass Media

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has made to United Kingdom media on the  (a) advisability and  (b) propriety of their offering financial inducements to serving military personnel to give interviews about their experiences on operations.

Des Browne: holding answer 18 April 2007
	None.

Armed Forces: Mass Media

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  for what reason the service personnel held captive in Iran were given permission to receive payment in return for statements to the media about their experiences;
	(2)  who made the decision to allow the service personnel held captive in Iran to sell their stories to media organisations.

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  which  (a) Ministers,  (b) military officers and  (c) civilian officials (i) were consulted about and (ii) took the decision to permit serving military personnel who had been captured by Iran to sell their stories to the media;
	(2)  what assessment he made before the decision was taken to allow serving military personnel to sell their stories to the media, of the effects of the making of such payments on  (a) the morale of (i) injured service personnel, (ii) bereaved service families and (iii) other serving military personnel who have not received comparable sums and  (b) the public perception of the armed services.

Des Browne: holding answer 18 April 2007
	I refer my hon. Friend and the hon. Member to the statement I made on 16 April 2007,  Official Report, columns 23-26.

Armed Forces: Mass Media

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what  (a) support and  (b) guidance is offered to military personnel when granted permission to enter into financial arrangements with media organisations.

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the criteria have been since 1997 for deciding whether to grant permission for serving military personnel  (a) to have accounts published and  (b) to sell media interviews about their experiences on operations; and how many instances there have been since 1997 of second-hand accounts of such experiences being sold to the media by relatives of military personnel who were still serving.

Des Browne: holding answer 18 April 2007
	 Provisions governing service personnel who wish to communicate with the media are contained in Queen's Regulations for the Armed Forces and a Defence Council Instruction published in October 2004. These, along with the support and guidance offered to military personnel in such circumstances, are currently under review, as I explained in my statement on 16 April 2007,  Official Report, columns 23-26.
	Until this review is complete, and any necessary changes to these provisions have been made, no service personnel are allowed to talk to the media about their experiences in return for payment.
	It is not possible for the MOD to determine the number of instances of relatives selling second-hand accounts to the media.

Departments: Official Engagements

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what  (a) his official engagements and  (b) those of each other Minister in his Department were for Thursday 12th April.

Des Browne: holding answer 18 April 2007
	 On Thursday 12 April 2007 I was in Quebec to attend a meeting of Defence Ministers to discuss the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan. The Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Lord Drayson, was in London and attended a dinner of the Air Force Board that evening. The Minister for the Armed Forces and the Under-Secretary of State were each on leave.

Departments: Official Engagements

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list each of his official engagements for 5 April to 9 April.

Des Browne: On 5 April, I was in office in the Ministry of Defence all morning and conducted a number of media interviews at lunchtime before returning to my constituency. I had no official engagements from Good Friday (6 April) until Easter Monday (9 April) but received regular updates on operational issues, as usual. I made a routine telephone call to the Australian Defence Minister on the evening of 9 April to discuss a range of operational issues. The only official engagement by my ministerial colleagues was one by the Under-Secretary of State and Minister for Veterans, who visited the Royal College of Defence Medicine at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham on the afternoon of 5 April to visit service personnel.

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures are in place to limit the amount of money spent on alcohol for hospitality purposes by his Department.

Derek Twigg: Expenditure on alcohol at public expense is governed by the general principles of financial propriety set out in Government Accounting and the MOD's own regulations for the provision of official entertainment promulgated in Joint Service Publication 462 (Financial Management Policy Management Manual). The provision of alcohol must, at all times, be in moderation and constitute an admissible charge to the Defence Budget.

Departments: Official Hospitality

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what equipment was seized by Iran during the capture of the 15 Royal Navy personnel; and whether any or all of the equipment has been returned.

Des Browne: The equipment seized by Iranians during the capture of the 15 Royal Naval personnel consisted of: two Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats, seven carbines, four rifles, 10 pistols and ammunition, communications and navigation systems, body armour, helmets, goggles and camera equipment. None of this equipment has been returned by the Iranian authorities.

Detainees: Iran

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  where the Iranian force that detained 15 UK sailors and marines came from; and what transport they used;
	(2)  when the 15 UK sailors and marines recently detained in Iran first saw the Iranian force coming to detain them;
	(3)  whether the 15 UK sailors and marines considered making a swift withdrawal in their boat when they saw the Iranian force approaching;
	(4)  how many Iranian troops detained the 15 UK sailors and marines in the recent incident.

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  which non-military personnel were on the Lynx helicopter which oversaw the boarding of the freighter in Iraqi waters on 23 March 2007; how many hours' flying were left on the Lynx helicopter as from 23 March to its next major service; and for what reason HMS Cornwall did not have a second Lynx helicopter;
	(2)  what arms were carried by each of the 15 service personnel prior to their capture by the Iranian authorities on 23 March 2007; and how much ammunition each member of personnel carried during their time on the freighter boarded in Iraqi waters;
	(3)  which vessels Commodore Lambert had under his command; and what the draught was for each vessel;
	(4)  whether boardings were carried out using  (a) a joint multinational force and  (b) the Royal Navy alone during Commodore Lambert's period of command;
	(5)  what choice of Command Post was available to Commodore Lambert;
	(6)  whether any order was given on 23 March 2007 from  (a) HMS Cornwall and  (b) any senior personnel for the boarding party to return to their boats from the freighter after the sighting of the Iranian speed-boats;
	(7)  how long it took from the first sighting of the two Iranian speed-boats on 23 March 2007 for those boats to be alongside the two British boats.

Des Browne: I refer the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood) and the hon. Member for Congleton (Ann Winterton) to the statement I made on 16 April 2007,  Official Report, columns 23-26, in which I stated that there would be an inquiry, lead by Lieutenant General Sir Rob Fulton Royal Marines (Retd), into this incident. It would therefore be in appropriate for me to comment further until this inquiry is complete.

Detainees: Iran

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Leading Seaman Turney was interviewed by a BBC film crew at any time prior to going on the boarding mission on 23 March 2007.

Des Browne: Leading Seaman Turney was interviewed by a BBC crew on the evening of 22 March 2007, as were several other members of the ship's crew. The BBC were already onboard HMS Cornwall for a planned visit.

Detainees: Iran

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what review of naval procurement and mothballing plans is to take place following the recent seizure of British military personnel by Iran.

Des Browne: We keep the readiness states of our operational warships under constant review. We are pressing ahead with the largest warship building programme this country has seen for decades. This includes the new Type 45 Destroyers, Astute class nuclear attack submarines and the future aircraft carriers.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many locally employed people are working as  (a) interpreters and  (b) drivers for the British Forces deployed in Southern Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: There are currently 186 interpreters and two drivers employed locally by British forces deployed in Southern Iraq.

Iran: Territorial Waters

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes were introduced following the seizure of the British marine patrol vessel by Iran in 2004.

Des Browne: holding answer 16 April 2007
	Changes introduced following the seizure of the British marine patrol vessel by Iran in 2004 on the Shatt Al Arab waterway included a review of the role of the Royal Naval Training Team and their operational command structure, vessels were equipped with heavier weapons and improved communications systems and enhancements were made to Royal Marine/Naval Pre-Deployment Training.

Navy: Persian Gulf

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many naval ships are deployed in the Persian Gulf under the authority of UN Security Council resolution 1723.

Des Browne: As at 20 April 2007, the following naval ships are operating in the Persian Gulf in direct support of the coalition effort authorised by UNSCR 1723.
	HMS Cornwall
	USS Underwood
	USS Chinook
	USS Typhoon
	USS Scirocco
	USCGC Aquidneck.

Rules of Engagement

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action UK forces are allowed to take to avoid and respond to arrest or attack when participating in UN missions.

Des Browne: UK service personnel have an inherent right to lawful self-defence, whether they are deployed on national or UN missions.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what measures are in place to limit the amount of money spent on alcohol for hospitality purposes by his Department.

John Prescott: All expenditure in the Department is conducted in accordance with the principles of "Government Accounting" and the Treasury handbook on "Regularity and Propriety", copies of which are available in the Library for the reference of Members.

Departments: Pressure Groups

Norman Baker: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the meetings between himself and outside interest groups which took place between 1 January and 31 March.

John Prescott: Ministers and civil servants meet a large number of individuals and groups in the course of their official duties. Information relating to internal meetings, discussion and advice is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Disadvantaged: Financial Services

Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if her Department will take steps to introduce microfinance schemes for individuals in deprived areas to improve rates of social inclusion.

Margaret Hodge: I have been asked to reply.
	I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 23 March 2007 , Official Report, column 1161W.

Policy Review

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the costs have been of  (a) commissioning and designing,  (b) printing and  (c) distributing each (i) report, (ii) publication and (iii) presentation produced by the Government's policy review.

Hilary Armstrong: This information is not available in the format requested.

Policy Review

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the  (a) value and  (b) purpose has been of each payment to external companies or organisations under the Government's policy review.

Hilary Armstrong: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice) on 8 March 2007,  Official Report, column 2198W.
	The results of the policy review process have been published in a series of papers under the title "Building on Progress", identifying long-term trends and new challenges and examining how existing policies need to be developed to continue to meet the country's priorities.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Children in Care: Lancashire

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children under the age of five years were taken into care in Lancashire in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 18 April 2007
	The number of children under the age of five years who were taken into care in Lancashire was 105 in both years ending 30 March 2005 and 2006.

Children in Care: Runaway Children

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many children looked after by a local authority were missing in 2006 for  (a) more than a week and  (b) more than a month; and how many such children went missing in that year and did not return at all;
	(2)  on how many occasions during 2006 a looked after child was missing from care overnight.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 19 February 2007
	The number of children looked after by a local authority who were missing in 2006 for more than a week was 620. Of those, 370 went missing for more than a month. Of the 370, 100 had not returned by 31 March 2006. In compiling theses figures, children who went missing more than once were only counted once. If they went missing more than once the duration of the missing episodes were considered independently (the days were not cumulated).
	The number of occasions during 2006 when a looked after child was missing from care for at least 24 hours is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of occasions in the year ending 31 March 2006 when looked after children went missing from care for at least 24 hours—England 
			  N umber and percentage 
			  Number of occasions child went missing  Number of children who went missing  Percentage 
			 All occasions 970 100 
			 1 710 73 
			 2 140 75 
			 3 50 5 
			 4 30 3 
			 5 20 2 
			 6 10 1 
			 7 — — 
			 8 10 1 
			 9 — — 
			 10 or more 10 1 
			  Notes: 1. To maintain the confidentiality of each individual child, data at national level are rounded to the nearest 100 if they exceed 1,000, to the nearest 10 otherwise. Figures between 1 and 5 inclusive have been suppressed and replaced by a hyphen"—".  2. Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number but have been suppressed where the numerator was 5 or less or the denominator was 10 or less, in accordance with National Statistics protocols.   Source:  SSDA903.

National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the costs per child to each local authority in England of fulfilling commitments under the National Service Framework which would previously have been met by Sure Start funding.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 20 April 2007
	The National Service Framework for children, young people and maternity services sets standards for children's health and social services and the interface of those services with education. Sure Start local programmes had discretion on how to allocate funds to meet local needs. Some chose to add to the resources for health services in their areas by employing midwives and health visitors. The roll-out of children's centres since 2003 across England reflects the change from this pilot initiative, testing out new ways of working, to an integrated common approach to delivering mainstream children's services. Local authorities and their partners in Children's Trusts are working together to plan and deliver their children's centres services, reconfiguring services where necessary. The Department cannot give a detailed estimate of the costs of funding commitments under the National Service Framework, as these are funded from a variety of sources to provide children's health and social care services. Between 2002-03 and 2005-06 the Department has spent an estimated £1.9 billion on Sure Start local programmes and children's centres. There are now 1,258 children's centres up and running reaching over 1 million children under the age of five.

Children's Centres

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children's centres  (a) opened and  (b) closed in each year for which figures are available.

Parmjit Dhanda: The information is as follows:
	 (a) There are currently 1,258 Sure Start children's centres open. The breakdown by calendar year is as follows:
	
		
			   Number of Sure Start children ' s centres opened 
			 2003 59 
			 2004 131 
			 2005 254 
			 2006 606 
			 2007 (up to 19 April 2007) 208 
		
	
	 (b) We have not received any reports of closures.

Divorce

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make it his policy to require divorcing couples to undertake mandatory mediation during disputes over access to children; and if he will enshrine in law the principle of shared parenting.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 20 April 2007
	The Government do not believe that it would be in the best interests of children to require separating parents to undertake mediation in all cases, nor do the Government plan to enshrine in law the principle of shared parenting.
	The Government are committed to the principle that mediation is beneficial, where it is in the child's best interests and there are no concerns for the safety of any member of the family. Provisions in the Children and Adoption Act 2006 will empower the court to direct parties, where appropriate, to attend a meeting to receive information about mediation.
	To enshrine shared parenting in legislation could, in effect, introduce a legal presumption of contact. This would shift the focus of family law away from the paramount interests of the child and prioritise the rights of parents above the interests of the child. The assumption that both parents have equal status and value as parents is already enshrined in current law. The Family Courts are already able to make shared residence orders, where such orders are in the best interests of the child, based on the circumstances of the case.

Fulford School

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what resources are paid by central Government to the enhanced resource centre for Autism and Aspergers at Fulford School in the City of York; what assessment has been made of the results produced by this resource centre; and what plans there are to increase such resource centre provision at other schools in England.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 23 April 2007
	No resources are paid by central Government to the enhanced resource centre at Fulford School. It is for local authorities (LAs) to organise and maintain their special educational needs (SEN) provision from the resources which are available to them and to keep their SEN arrangements under review.
	The Department has not made an assessment of the resource centre at Fulford School. Ofsted's last inspection of the school in December 2003, before the resource centre opened two years ago, noted that
	"specialist local authority staff provide high quality individual tuition for students with different needs, including autism and specific learning difficulties".
	Since the resource centre opened, City of York LA has conducted a review which found that the centre was making high quality provision which is greatly appreciated by parents.
	Decisions on opening resourced provision are taken locally. The Department's team of SEN advisers reported in October 2006 that
	"many [local authorities] reported on the development of specialist resourced provision within mainstream schools. Most new provision was designed to meet the needs of pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorders or Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties".
	The Ofsted report 'Inclusion: does it matter where pupils are taught? (2006)' stated that
	"there was little difference in the quality of provision and outcomes for pupils [with SEN] across primary, secondary and special schools. However, mainstream schools with additionally resourced provision were particularly successful in achieving high outcomes for pupils academically, socially and personally".
	Through guidance, the Government promote a range of provision, including resourced provision, for children with SEN in general and those with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) in particular. The ASDs 'Good Practice Guidance' (DfES/DH, 2002) advised local authorities to aim for "a spectrum of provision for the spectrum of need". The Department is currently considering responses to a consultation on draft guidance on 'Planning and Developing Special Educational Provision' which includes advice on developing a range of provision. The guidance will be published later this year.

Grandparents: Parental Responsibility

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he has taken to co- ordinate Government policy to support grandparents who act as parents to their grandchildren.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 20 April 2007
	The Government published the Green Paper 'Care Matters' last autumn which contained a number of proposals and consultation questions related to the care of children by family and friends, including grandparents.
	The consultation responses were published on 17 April and it is clear that remaining with family rather than going into care is a very high priority for many children and young people who replied. Respondents also highlighted a range of ways in which support to family and friends carers could be provided. The policy issues have also been considered by the independent working group on future of the care population which was one of four working groups set up following the publication of 'Care Matters'. We shall be taking all these views into account in taking forward the planned 'Care Matters' White Paper.

Higher Education: Finance

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the announcements in the Budget about science funding, what funds are to be made available to the Higher Education Funding Council for England for research funding in each of the next four years.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 24 April 2007
	The Budget settlement gives an average annual real terms increase of 2.4 per cent. for our total ring-fenced research funding. We are now considering the detailed allocation of funding towards the goal set out in the 10 Year Science and Innovation Investment Framework of maintaining a sustainable and dynamic research base.

Secondary Education: Curriculum

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what definition the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority uses of drawing on the specified breadth of the subject when teaching the key concepts and processes in the secondary curriculum review.

Jim Knight: holding answer 23 April 2007
	The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority defines
	"drawing on the specified breadth of the subject when teaching the key concepts and processes in the secondary curriculum review"
	as requiring that all parts of the statutory Range and Content sections of the programmes of study must be included in the teaching programme.

Sure Start Programme: Cornwall

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the per capita spending by his Department was on Sure Start programmes in Cornwall in each year since 1997.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 20 April 2007
	There are currently seven Sure Start local programmes in Cornwall. The programmes opened on a rolling basis between 2000 and 2003 and aimed to reach over 4,800 children. In their first two to three years, programmes were building up their services and did not generally operate at peak levels until the third or fourth year. The average expenditure per child for every year for which the grant was paid or allocated is in the following table. From 2006-07, the earliest programme's grants start to taper to a level consistent with delivering the children's centres offer. We expect that local authorities will be in a position to make savings through economies of scale, for example on administration, finance and evaluation, now that the grant for the programmes is paid directly to them.
	
		
			  Financial year  Average revenue expenditure per child (£) 
			 2000-01 418 
			 2001-02 901 
			 2002-03(1) 747 
			 2003-04 939 
			 2004-05 1,063 
			 2005-06 1,114 
			 2006-07(2) 1,031 
			 (1) Six programmes received funding for the first time in 2002-03 but because they were not at peak levels, the per capita expenditure falls. (2 )Planned number of children receiving services each year.  Source: 2000-06—actual expenditure by Sure Start local programmes. 2006-07—funding allocated for Sure Start local programmes.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Carbon Emissions

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when his Department began to measure its carbon emissions; what the volume of those emissions was in the last period for which figures are available; when his Department started to offset those emissions; what the cost is expected to be of offsetting his Department's emissions; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Department's most recent estimate of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) from buildings and business travel is as follows:
	
		
			  Source  2005-06 (t) 
			 Buildings (1)46,009 
			 Business travel (2)9,155 
			 (1) This figure is for DEFRA and executive agencies. (2) Carbon dioxide emissions from road vehicles in DEFRA and executive agencies plus carbon dioxide emissions from DEFRA and CEFAS for air travel, taking account of radiative forcing, in line with the Government carbon offsetting fund. 
		
	
	Carbon dioxide emissions from buildings have been recorded since April 1999. DEFRA and executive agencies have recorded carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles since April 2002. DEFRA and the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) have recorded air travel from April 2005 and rail travel from April 2001.
	DEFRA and CEFAS offset air travel (from April 2005), DEFRA offset rail travel (from June 2006) and DEFRA will offset vehicle travel from June 2007. Carbon dioxide emissions from buildings are not offset, but DEFRA is committed to achieving carbon neutrality on its office estate by 2012.
	The cost of offsetting carbon dioxide emissions from business travel for 2005-06 is approximately £27,000. DEFRA is a participant in the Government carbon offsetting fund (GCOF) which offsets carbon dioxide emissions attributable to air travel and other sources across some 40 Departments and agencies. The GCOF will deliver between 255,000 and 305,000 certified emission reductions by April 2009.

Departments: Travel

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost was of each helicopter flight he has taken within the UK on official business in the last three months.

Barry Gardiner: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not taken any helicopter flights within the UK on official business in the last three months.

Fisheries

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consultations with  (a) the North Sea Fisheries Advisory Council and  (b) the Kent and Essex Sea Fisheries Committee he had on skates and rays before attending the December 2006 EU Council of Fisheries ministers.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 16 April 2007
	The North Sea Regional Advisory Council (RAC) was consulted directly by the European Commission on their proposals for the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) and quota arrangements for 2007 when they were released on 6 December. This included the proposal on the bycatch limit for skates and rays. I am not aware that the RAC raised any concerns about this provision at the time.
	Because of the late arrival of the proposals, it was not possible for my Department to consult all interested parties. A number of discussions took place with the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO) and the English producer organisations (POs)—who are represented on the Kent and Essex Sea Fisheries Committee—as well as their counterparts in other parts of the UK. On the basis of these discussions, we identified that the original Commission proposal for a 5 per cent. bycatch limit was too low and likely to lead to increased discarding. The Commission accepted this argument to some extent, and we succeeded in having the figure increased to 25 per cent. We also succeeded in reducing the scale of their proposed cut in the TAC to 20 per cent. (from 45 per cent.).

Ground Water

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to ensure that water service customers may claim a historical rebate of greater than one year for surface drainage services that they have not received.

Ian Pearson: Ofwat is the economic regulator of the water industry and is responsible for setting price limits.
	It requires companies to offer rebates for surface water drainage to customers who do not benefit in any way from this service, starting from the charging year in which they first apply for the rebate. Companies are also required to explain on customers' bills that surface water drainage rebates are available. All 10 water and sewerage companies in England and Wales do this. Many companies also include information leaflets with their bills explaining the rebate.
	Ofwat does not expect companies to provide rebates retrospectively for periods before the current charging year. If companies were to do this, they would expect to backdate corresponding increases in charges for customers who are connected for surface water drainage. Ofwat does not consider this to be either practicable or desirable.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Burma: Politics and Government

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with the Government of Burma on the treatment of political opponents.

Ian McCartney: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had no bilateral discussions with the Burmese Government.
	She remains deeply concerned about the treatment of the Burmese regime's political opponents. Over a thousand political opponents are held in prison and others are subject to harassment and exile for their political beliefs.
	As a result, I have on my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's behalf:
	raised the treatment of political prisoners with the Burmese ambassador on 15 June 2006 and in my letter to the Burmese Foreign Minister of 5 July 2006;
	raised human rights abuses in Burma during a meeting of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) ambassadors in London last September, and with UN Under-Secretary General, Ibrahim Gambari, in November 2006; and
	also highlighted our concerns about the appalling treatment of political opponents in separate statements on 2 June 2006, concerning the harsh sentences given to Shan democracy leaders; 2 October 2006, concerning the arbitrary detention of six Burmese democracy activists; 19 October 2006, concerning the death in custody of Ko Thet Win Aung and 15 February concerning the deplorable decision to extend the house arrest of U Tin Oo, the Vice Chairman of the National League for Democracy.
	Most recently, I raised the human rights situation in Burma in my address to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 13 March and at the EU-Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers Meeting in Nuremberg on 15 March, in the presence of the Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister.
	I will be again raising Burma when I attend the 8th Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers Meeting, in Hungary on 28-29 May.

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was spent on hospitality by her Department in the financial year 2006-07.

Geoff Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not maintain central records of total annual expenditure on hospitality across the FCO and UK missions overseas. To collate this information would incur disproportionate cost.
	Government Hospitality, FCO Services, spent approximately £810 000 in total in financial year 2006-07. Government Hospitality funds and arranges formal ministerial hospitality for all Government Departments; although the FCO is the largest single user of the service (and budget) it accounts for only around 30 per cent. of the total annual spend.

Iran: Territorial Waters

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the date was of each complaint made by the UK Government to international bodies against the Government of Iran for seizing United Kingdom service personnel in 2004; to which international body each was made; what the outcome was of each complaint; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: We raise the 2004 Iranian seizure of service personnel through our bilateral contacts with Iran, along with Iraq. We have not raised the incident with any international bodies.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made since October 2006 by the Joint Committee to Transfer Security Responsibility in Iraq; and what discussions the Government have had with  (a) the United States and  (b) Iraqi counterparts on the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq.

Margaret Beckett: The Joint Committee to Transfer Security Responsibility (JCTSR) assesses the extent to which provinces meet the conditions required for transition to Provincial Iraqi Control, and based on this, recommends to the Iraqi Ministerial Council on National Security when provinces are ready. Since October 2006, the JCTSR has recommended that Najaf and Maysan provinces be transitioned.
	Decisions on UK force levels in Iraq are naturally the subject of regular consultation both with the Government of Iraq and with the United States and our other allies.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recommendations the Joint Committee to Transfer Security Responsibility in Iraq has made on those provinces and provincial capitals ready for the transfer of security responsibilities; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: The Joint Committee to Transfer Security Responsibility has so far recommended Muthanna, Dhi Qar, Najaf and Maysan for transition. All four provinces are now under lead Iraqi security control. As my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary said on 18 April, the transfer of Maysan province to Provincial Iraqi Control is an important milestone. It demonstrates the progress being made by the Iraqi security forces, in co-operation with Coalition forces, as they continue to assume greater responsibility for their country's security.

Iraq: Politics and Government

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact of the departure of Muqtada al-Sadr's political group from the Iraqi parliament on the political situation in Iraq.

Ian McCartney: Muqtada al-Sadr's group have not left the Iraqi parliament. Muqtada al-Sadr recently called on Sadrist Ministers in the Iraqi Government to withdraw from their positions. Prime Minister Maliki has welcomed the move as an opportunity to appoint Ministers based on their ability rather than on a sectarian basis and has appointed interim Ministers to the Ministries concerned.

Nigeria: Elections

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what international observers were present for recent gubernatorial elections in Nigeria; and what observers she expects to be present for the presidential elections in Nigeria.

Ian McCartney: The elections held in Nigeria on 14 April to choose State Governors and Members of the State Houses of Assembly were attended by observers from the EU, the Economic Community of West African States, the Commonwealth, the National Democratic Institute and IFES, a United States-based organisation. The same observer missions were present for the presidential elections held on 21 April. The International Republican Institute also deployed observers on 21 April.
	For the elections on both 14 and 21 April the EU Election Observation Mission, led by Max van den Berg, Member of the European Parliament, deployed about 150 observers in total, covering 33 of the 36 States. On both election days our High Commission in Abuja, offices of the Department for International Development in Nigeria and other diplomatic missions also deployed observers, to complement the work of the visiting international observers. My hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) was also present for the presidential elections with our High Commission, as Special Representative of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Nigeria: Elections

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports she has received of intimidation and undemocratic practices in gubernational elections in Nigeria; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: There have been numerous reports of violence and intimidation during the elections held in Nigeria on 14 April to choose State Governors and Members of the State Houses of Assembly. It is estimated that at least fifty people were killed in election-related violence between 13 and 15 April.
	As well as the unacceptable violence and intimidation, there were serious flaws in the administration of the elections. Problems reported by EU observers include poor organisation, lack of transparency, widespread procedural irregularities, significant evidence of fraud, voter disenfranchisement and lack of equal conditions for contestants. In a statement released on 23 April the EU Election Observation Mission in Nigeria said that both the State elections on 14 April and the Federal elections on 21 April had fallen short of basic international and regional standards for democratic elections.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made a public statement about the State and Federal elections on 23 April. The statement is available on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website at: www.fco.gov.uk and we will place a copy in the Library of the House.

Sudan: Asylum

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what monitoring her Department undertakes of the treatment of repatriated asylum seekers in Sudan; and what her latest assessment is of their treatment.

Ian McCartney: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not routinely monitor individual repatriated failed asylum seekers. It would generally be inappropriate and impractical for the UK to monitor individual citizens of another country once they return there.
	This should not be interpreted as disinterest. The FCO follows the human rights situation through our network of posts around the world, including in the countries to which we return failed asylum seekers. Information on the human rights situation is always taken fully into account as a factor in the formulation of Home Office policies on asylum, and hence in the decision about whether it is safe to return an individual.
	Asylum and human rights claims by nationals of Sudan are, like those of claimants from all countries, considered on their individual merits in accordance with the UK's obligations under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights. Each application is considered against the background of the latest country information available from a wide range of reliable sources including international organisations, non-governmental organisations, the FCO and the media.
	The country information on Sudan is available to decision-makers in regularly updated country reports which are available on the Home Office website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/country_reports.html.

Sudan: Peace Keeping Operations

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions her Department has had on the situation in Darfur with the Government of  (a) Chad,  (b) the Central African Republic and  (c) Uganda.

Ian McCartney: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is pressing all sides involved in the Darfur conflict to engage in a renewed political process and stop supporting each other's rebels.
	The UK Ambassador-at-Large for the Sudanese Peace Process raised these issues when he visited Chad on 20 February. Our High Commissioner in Yaounde (non-resident Ambassador to the Central African Republic) also discussed regional instability with the Government of the Central African Republic when he visited in January. Given the importance of this issue, we will continue to press both the Governments of Chad and Sudan on this matter. We regularly discuss the conflict with our partners in the Security Council and with regional Governments such as Uganda.
	We are also urging the African Union and UN to make rapid progress on the political track, which they agreed to take forward at the Addis Ababa and Abuja summits last November.

HEALTH

Waiting Times

Nick Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in this Parliament in reducing hospital waiting times.

Andy Burnham: Excellent progress has been made. Since May 2005, the number of patients waiting longer than six months for treatment has fallen from around 50,000 to less than 400. The average in-patient wait has fallen from 8.3 weeks to 6.6 weeks.

Waiting Times

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the current maximum waiting times are for hip surgery in  (a) Leicestershire,  (b) Warwickshire and  (c) England.

Andy Burnham: The maximum wait for all in-patient/day case surgery, including hip operations, has fallen from 26 weeks to 20 weeks from 1 April 2007. By the end of 2008 patients requiring hip surgery will wait a maximum of 18 weeks from general practitioner referral to the start of treatment.
	Waiting time data are collected at a specialty level. The latest available data for trauma and orthopaedics, which include hip surgery in Leicestershire, Warwickshire and England are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Commissioner based trauma and orthopaedics waiting time information at the end of February 2007 
			   Organisation name 
			   Leicestershire County and Rutland Primary Care Trust (PCT)  Leicester City Teaching PCT  Warwickshire PCT  All England 
			 Total number waiting 2,527 965 2,575 185,876 
			  
			  Number waiting: 
			 Over 20 weeks 297 112 257 16,768 
			 Over 26 weeks 11 0 0 347 
			  
			  Percentage waiting: 
			 Over 20 weeks 11.8 11.6 10.0 9.0 
			 Over 26 weeks 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.2 
			  Source:  Department of Health, Monthly Monitoring

Healthcare-acquired Infections

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take further steps to improve the public awareness of how to prevent healthcare-acquired infections.

Ivan Lewis: We already provide information for the public on healthcare associated infections and the "Health Act 2006 Code of Practice for the Prevention and Control of Health Care Associated Infections" requires Trusts to provide suitable patient information. Additional new materials to help Trusts improve local public awareness are due this summer.

Healthcare-acquired Infections

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired infection in Gloucestershire.

Ivan Lewis: Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust is working in partnership with Gloucestershire Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust on infection control. The foundation trust has produced a detailed action plan which was assessed by my Department's meticillin resistant  Staphylococcus aureus Improvement Programme Review Team on 6 March 2007, and the local NHS continues to monitor the situation.

Health Visitors

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment she has made of the availability of health visitors; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The latest published census showed the headcount number of health visitors in England has increased by over 400 or 3 per cent. since 1997 to over 12,800 in 2005.

Community Hospitals and Services

Andrew Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department is planning to spend on community hospitals and services in 2007-08; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: We are committed to community hospitals where they represent the best solutions for local communities. To support this we have set up a five year £750 million programme to promote the development of community hospitals and services. To date we have allocated around £100 million to 14 different schemes.

Audiology

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment she has made of waiting times to receive a digital hearing aid.

Ivan Lewis: The Department does not collect waiting times data for hearing aid fitting. We recognise that there are significant challenges with regard to waiting times to receive a digital hearing aid. As part of the process of addressing this challenge, we published "Improving Access to Audiology Services in England" in March 2007.

Patients' Telephone Services

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the progress of work with suppliers to consider further ways of reducing incoming call charges for hospital patients.

Andy Burnham: Discussions have taken place with the two service providers, originally investigated by the Office of Communications, to identify possible ways of reducing their incoming call charge.
	As reported by the Patient Power Review Group, in February, there is no easy, quick fix solution to this problem but the Department is working hard to resolve this issue.

Smoke-free Legislation

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made towards implementing the smoke-free legislation in England.

Caroline Flint: With all sets of smoke-free regulations on the statute book, the Department's Smokefree England campaign is in full swing.
	Funding and training has been provided to local authorities. Guidance packs are now being sent to businesses across England and a free phone information line and website is operating.
	The Department will also run a public information advertising campaign in the lead-up to 1 July.

Health Mutuals

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what ways health mutuals work in co-operation with the NHS.

Ivan Lewis: A range of mutual organisations are involved in delivering national health service services, including NHS foundation trusts and some social enterprises. Health mutuals can offer positive benefits for patients, local communities and employees.

Alcoholism

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding has been allocated to treat alcoholism in 2007-08.

Caroline Flint: It is for primary care trusts (PCTs) to determine what proportion of their general allocation is spent on treating alcoholism. An additional £15 million is included within PCTs' general allocation from 2007-08 onwards to help PCTs to improve their local arrangements for commissioning and delivering specialist alcohol interventions.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women are required to wait more than three years between breast cancer screenings in  (a) each London primary care trust and  (b) England.

Rosie Winterton: The average intervals between screenings for breast cancer by primary care trust is not collected centrally. However, national health service cancer screening programmes requested data from the NHS breast screening programme on the percentage of local screening units achieving the 36 month national standard between screens for quarter four 2005-06 (January to March 2006).
	In England, 68 per cent. of women were re-screened within the 36-month national standard and the average wait between screens was 36 months, while the following table shows the average wait between screens (average round length) and the percentage of screenings within the 36-month national standard for the London breast screening units.
	
		
			  Breast screening unit  Average round length (months)  Percentage of screenings within 36 months  of  previous screening 
			 South East London—GCA 1 35 70 
			 South East London—GCA 2 35 69 
			 North London—EBA 35 66 
			 South West London—HWA 38 44 
			 Barking Havering—FBH 40 28 
			 West of London—ECX 36 46 
			 Central and East London— FLO 35 78 
			 Whipps Cross—FWC 42 7 
		
	
	The NHS cancer plan, published in 2000, stated that we would extend invitations for breast screening to women aged 65 to 70 and introduce two-view mammography at all screening rounds. Thanks to the efforts of the staff in the screening programme, these targets have now been achieved in all local breast screening units. The expansion is already showing an effect, with nearly 12,000 cancers diagnosed by the programme in 2004-05, an increase of 40 per cent. on 2001 when the expansion began.
	However, the changes together represent a 40 per cent. increase in the workload of the programme. We are aware that this has had an impact on some services maintaining the three-year interval for screening and we are taking steps to bring all screening intervals back to three years.
	We take the issue of the 36-month standard between screens very seriously. That is why Professor Mike Richards, the National Cancer Director, wrote to the chief executives of all 10 strategic health authorities in England on 9 February 2007 highlighting the importance of maintaining the 36-month interval.

Chiropody: East Sussex

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision of NHS chiropody services there is in  (a) Eastbourne and  (b) East Sussex.

Caroline Flint: This is a local matter. It is for primary care trusts in partnership with local stakeholders to determine how best to use their resources to meet both national and local priorities. This process provides the means for addressing local needs within the local health community including the provision of chiropody services.

Chlamydia Infection: Screening

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of chlamydia screening is being undertaken using nucleic acid amplification testing.

Caroline Flint: This information is not collected centrally.
	The Government have recognised that the need to switch to the superior nucleic acid amplification test for chlamydia testing and screening should be treated as a priority. £7 million pump-priming money was invested in 2004-05 to ensure that all major laboratories in each region of England use the most effective technology.

Chlamydia Infection: Screening

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many chlamydia tests have been undertaken in each region of England; and what percentage each figure represents of the target;
	(2)  how many people aged 16 to 24 have been screened for chlamydia, and what percentage this figure represents of the target.

Caroline Flint: Information on the number of people screened in 2005-06 between the ages of 16-24 in the national chlamydia screening programme (NCSP) is given in the table (this is the same figure as tests undertaken). The information covers 26 programme areas and represented 25 per cent. of the previous primary care trust configuration. We expect to have 85 programme areas when we see national coverage during this year.
	
		
			  Region  Mid 2005 ONS population  Screening volume year 3 (to March 2006) 
			 North East 352,300 4,373 
			 North West 923,600 19,789 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 701,300 13,333 
			 East Midlands 566,700 6,528 
			 West Midlands 712,200 9,557 
			 East of England 665,600 6,255 
			 London 1,014,000 17,360 
			 South East 1,012,800 19,877 
			 South West 621,700 6,341 
		
	
	In addition, data for the number of people diagnosed with chlamydia in 2005 in genito-urinary clinics for each region were published in 'Diagnosis of selected STIs by region, sex and age group, United Kingdom: 1996—2005'. A copy is available in the Library. The document is also freely available at the following website:
	www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/hiv_and_sti/epidemiology/datatables2005.htm
	There was no national target covering the number of chlamydia screens in 2005-06.

Chlamydia Infection: Screening

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans she has to increase the number of young people screened for chlamydia;
	(2)  what estimate her Department has made of the number of unscreened people between 16 and 24 who are infected with chlamydia.

Caroline Flint: The national screening chlamydia programme (NSCP) is an important part of the Government's sexual health strategy. Screening volumes have already increased from just over 18,000 in year one (2003-04) to nearly 104,000 in year three (2005-06). No estimate has been made of the number of 16 to 24-year-olds who have not been screened but are infected with chlamydia but positivity rates in year three for both males and females is very similar (10.1 per cent. and 10.2 per cent. respectively). Screening was undertaken in 26 programme areas.
	We expect to see all primary care trusts commence screening during 2007. For the first time a local delivery plan target has been introduced for 2007-08. Strategic health authorities have submitted plans to screen at least 15 per cent. of their population aged 15-24 by March 2008.
	In addition, the Department, has contracted Boots to pilot the potential of retail pharmacies as chlamydia screening venues. Screening started on 14 November 2005 in all of the Boots stores in London. This two-year pilot is being independently evaluated by TNS Healthcare. To date, nearly 18,000 people have been tested between the ages of 16-24.

Departments: Manpower

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) staff and  (b) civil servants work in her Department's commercial directorate.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Commercial directorate 
			   Number 
			 Civil servants 5.7 
			 Secondees 21.0 
			 Fixed term contractors 229.8 
			  Notes: Figures as at 28 February 2007

Departments: Market Research

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her Department's total expenditure on communications research was in each year since 1997-98; and how much of this cost was accounted for by producing  (a) reports on the public perceptions of the NHS,  (b) reports from plain English workshops,  (c) stakeholder surveys,  (d) national media evaluations,  (e) regional media evaluations and (f) other research.

Ivan Lewis: A list of expenditure on communications research in each year since 1997-98 could be provided only at disproportionate costs, as there are no central records for communications research expenditure prior to April 2004.
	In April 2004, the Communications Research Team was established. The following table is their expenditure broken down by the areas requested. This should be regarded as an indicative guide to the Department's spend only:
	
		
			  Communications research  Spend by type (£) 
			  2007  
			 Public perceptions of the NHS tracker survey 32,900 
			 Public and NHS staff workshops 53,100 
			 Departmental stakeholder survey 0 
			 National media evaluation 0 
			 Regional media evaluation 0 
			 Other research 13,000 
			 Total 99,000 
			   
			  2006  
			 Public perceptions of the NHS tracker survey 80,500 
			 Public and NHS staff workshops 140,500 
			 Departmental stakeholder survey 20,000 
			 National media evaluation 63,539 
			 Regional media evaluation 52,708 
			 Other research 134,500 
			 Total 491,747 
			   
			  2005  
			 Public perceptions of the NHS tracker survey 65,000 
			 Public and NHS staff workshops 72,150 
			 Stakeholder research 0 
			 National media evaluation 70,899 
			 Regional medial evaluation 38,018 
			 Other research 53,120 
			 Total 299,187 
			   
			  2004  
			 Public perceptions of the NHS tracker survey 65,000 
			 Public and NHS staff workshops 54,000 
			 National media evaluation 99,684 
			 Regional media evaluation 16,333 
			 Stakeholder surveys 0 
			 Other research 13,000 
			 Total 248,017 
		
	
	We are committed to consulting and involving the public, national health service staff and our stakeholders to help inform both policy formulation and the delivery of better quality public service. Responsive public services are an important part of the Modernising Government initiative.

Departments: Renewable Energy

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what strategy she has put in place for  (a) the use of renewable energy and  (b) meeting energy targets in her Department's buildings; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Department has been purchasing green electricity since 2001-02. Since 2004-05 100 per cent. of the electricity for our London administrative estate has been purchased from renewable sources. This is a substantially better performance than the Government target required, which was that 10 per cent. of electricity should be from renewable sources.
	We are committed to maximising our energy efficiency, and we have been working with the Carbon Trust and others to identify potential savings. We have recently been commended in the 2005-06 Sustainable Development in Government (SDiG) report (published 7 March 2007) for having reduced our absolute carbon emissions by 15.4 per cent. since 1999-2000. Along with other Government Departments, we are working towards the target that the whole Government estate should be carbon neutral by 2012.
	This information relates to the Department's main London estate. The Department also occupies a building in Leeds, where the major occupier is Department of Work and Pensions, and another building in London where the major occupier is HM Revenue and Customs. They are subject to the same Government-wide targets. Where we do not have direct control over utilities we nevertheless do whatever we can, such as encouraging our staff to save energy, to reduce the overall C02 emissions from these buildings.

Diagnosis

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 20 February 2007,  Official Report, column 667W, whether phase two diagnostic schemes have now been finalised in strategic health authorities other than London and the West Midlands; and when she expects the first procedures to be undertaken by phase two diagnostic schemes.

Andy Burnham: Of the seven regional phase 2 diagnostic schemes, four schemes have reached financial close: London, West Midlands, North West and South West.
	The first diagnostic services commenced in London in April 2007, and the remaining schemes will follow on a phased basis through 2007.

Elderly: Nutrition

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received on the diets of hospital patients over the age of 65 years; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: A number of representations have been made regarding either hospital food, or the nutrition of older people. In particular, there has been a recent short debate in the House of Lords, to ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to prevent malnutrition in hospitals, as highlighted in the Age Concern report, "Hungry to be heard", and an Early Day Motion on the same subject.
	The Department is actively working on an action plan seeking the involvement of stakeholders in this subject, and recently held a Nutrition Summit, at which Age Concern was represented.

Essex Rivers Healthcare NHS Trust: Pollution Control

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much Essex Rivers Healthcare NHS Trust has spent on buying carbon dioxide permits under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme since the inception of the scheme.

Caroline Flint: Essex Rivers Healthcare National Health Service Trust does not fall within the provisions of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Regulations 2005 and as a result has no financial obligations arising from the scheme.

General Practitioners: Gravesham

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the closure of GP practices in Gravesham.

Caroline Flint: This is a matter for the local national health service. However, the NHS South East Coast Strategic Health Authority reports that West Kent Primary Care Trust has no plans to close general practitioners practices in the Gravesham area.

Health Services: Private Sector

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what meetings  (a) officials and  (b) Ministers have had to discuss the outsourcing of primary care trust functions with (i) the private sector, (ii) the not for profit sector, (iii) Mr. Simon Stevens and (iv) Mr. Paul Corrigan;
	(2)  what meetings she had with staff from the commercial directorate on each day between 20 June 2006 and 10 July 2006; which staff she met; and what the subject was of each meeting.

Andy Burnham: Ministers regularly meet with officials to discuss policy and its delivery.
	The procurement team working within the commercial directorate of the Department has held meetings with bidders who wished to be considered for inclusion on the framework for procuring external support for commissioners. These have been in accordance with procurement law. The majority of meetings were with the private sector although the not for profit sector was represented in the bidder pool. Mr. Simon Stevens, of United Health Europe, attended meetings on 9 August 2006 and 1 November 2006. There were no meetings with Mr. Paul Corrigan.

Health Trainers

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the health trainers announced in the Choosing Health White Paper have been appointed.

Caroline Flint: There are currently 1,100 health trainers recruited to the programme. It is anticipated there will be 1,500 health trainers in spearhead areas by the end of first quarter 2007-08.

Health: Investors in People

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in incorporating a healthy business assessment in the Investors in People standard as proposed in her Department's White Paper "Choosing Health".

Caroline Flint: Following the publication of "Choosing Health", the Department commissioned Investors in People UK to develop a new framework dedicated to improving health and well-being in the workplace, firmly underpinned by evidence.
	A pilot of the latest version of the Investors in People's health and well-being at work framework is now under way, with over 100 organisations undertaking live assessments against the standard.

Heart Disease and Stroke Services

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her Department's report of 5 December on the clinical case for reconfiguration in the context of heart disease and stroke services 
	(1)  how many hospitals in each of the strategic health authorities will provide the highest level of emergency diagnostic and treatment services for heart attack and stroke patients; and what assessment she has made of the effect of the proposed reconfiguration of accident and emergency departments on the future resources of ambulance trusts;
	(2)  how many hospitals she expects to provide a  (a) 24 hour emergency angioplasty service,  (b) 24 hour thrombolysing service for patients with cerebral vascular embolism and  (c) 24 hour diagnostic scanning and other services to support these procedures;
	(3)  what would be the  (a) fewest locations it would be safe to provide and  (b) most accident and emergency departments her Department considers to be feasible with full 24 hour per day emergency diagnostic and treatment facilities for heart attack and stroke patients.

Rosie Winterton: The Department is currently in the middle of a study involving 11 hospitals (10 primary angioplasty centres) to test the feasibility of extending primary angioplasty as the treatment of choice for heart attack in England. The study is looking at different models of service and different geographies. An independent evaluation is assessing workforce implications, costs and the patient experience of primary angioplasty. It will be for local commissioners to decide on their service configuration taking into account the lessons from this study. An interim report on the study is due in 2007 with the final report due in early 2008.
	The Department has also commenced work on an 18-month programme to develop a national strategy for strokes. We will be examining different models of care for different geographical areas and it will be for local commissioners to decide upon.
	The reconfiguration of accident and emergency departments is for the national health services locally to decide upon, following full consultation with local people. We would expect the development of any proposals for reconfiguration to include an assessment of the impact on the health economy as a whole, including the impact on ambulance trusts.

Homeopathy

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if she will take steps to ensure that patients requesting homeopathic treatment are able to attend one of the NHS homeopathic hospitals in England;
	(2)  what steps she is taking to ensure that primary care trusts make patients aware that homeopathic treatment is an option on the NHS;
	(3)  if she will make a statement on the availability of homeopathy in NHS hospitals.

Caroline Flint: The homeopathic hospitals in this country fall under the jurisdiction of the national health service in the area in which they are based. Any decision on the services any of these hospitals provide are the responsibility of those NHS health care organisations.
	The Department commissioned the Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health to publish a guide to complementary medicine for patients which gives them the information they would need to make an informed choice about the treatment they would wish to have. This publication is available online at www.FIH.org.uk. Information is also available on the NHS Direct website, www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk, on the possibility of homeopathy being available from one of the five NHS homeopathic hospitals in the United Kingdom as well as some general practitioner practices providing access to homeopathic treatment.
	The Government consider that decision-making on individual clinical interventions, whether conventional, or complementary/alternative treatments, have to be a matter for local NHS service providers and practitioners as they are best placed to know their community's needs. In making such decisions, they have to take into account evidence for the safety, clinical and cost-effectiveness of any treatments, the availability of suitably qualified practitioners, and the needs of the individual patient. Clinical responsibility rests with the NHS professional who makes the decision to refer and who must therefore be able to justify any treatment they recommend. If they are unconvinced about the suitability of a particular treatment, they cannot be made to refer.

Homeopathy

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether patients prescribed homeopathic treatment will be able to access it from  (a) one of the four NHS homeopathic hospitals and  (b) local NHS homeopathic clinics; and what commitments the Government has made to the continued provision of homeopathy through NHS homeopathic hospitals.

Caroline Flint: The homeopathic hospitals in the United Kingdom fall under the jurisdiction of the national health service in the area in which they are based. Any decisions on the services any of these hospitals provide are the responsibility of those NHS healthcare organisations.
	The Government consider that decision-making on individual clinical interventions, whether conventional, or complementary/alternative treatments, have to be a matter for local NHS service providers and practitioners as they are best placed to know their community's needs. In making such decisions, they have to take into account evidence for the safety, clinical and cost-effectiveness of any treatments, the availability of suitably qualified practitioners, and the needs of the individual patient. Clinical responsibility rests with the NHS professional who makes the decision to refer and who must therefore be able to justify any treatment they recommend. If they are unconvinced about the suitability of a particular treatment, they cannot be made to refer.

Hospices: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her Department's press release of 9 April 2007 entitled National Funding for Local Hospices, what proportion of the £40 million allocated for hospice funding will be available in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08.

Ivan Lewis: In September 2006, as part of the Dignity in Care programme, we announced £50 million to be made available over 2006-07 and 2007-08 to enable adult hospices to bid to make physical improvements to their buildings. Hospices were invited to apply for a share of £40 million of this funding to improve their facilities and provide greater dignity for people at or nearing the end of life.
	On 9 April 2007 we announced that a total of 191 schemes in 146 hospices had been approved for funding to a total of £40 million. These grants will enable a wide range of improvements for patients and their families, such as more single rooms which offer greater privacy and dignity, additional facilities to allow families to stay overnight with their relatives and more therapeutic and social spaces.
	All grants are subject to the individual hospices' receipt of formal confirmation and acceptance of terms and conditions. Once terms are accepted, the funds will be issued over the duration of the projects. We expect the majority of the funding to be issued during 2007-08.

Hospices: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her Department's press release of 9 April 2007 entitled National Funding for Local Hospices, which bids for a share of £40 million were unsuccessful; and what the value of the bid was in each such case.

Ivan Lewis: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Hospices with rejected bid schemes 
			  Name of hospice/organisation  Name of rejected project title  Amount requested (£) 
			 Arthur Rank House Arthur Rank House—refurbishment of inpatient facilities 247,485 
			 Eden Valley Hospice Provision of gas central heating system 201,513 
			 Fair Havens Hospice Capital improvements to patient areas—Fair Havens Hospice 624,924 
			 Hospice in the Weald Project Title—extension of nurses station and physiotherapy room 55,000 
			 Hospice in the Weald Creation of a patient lounge/conservatory 12,000 
			 Hospice in the Weald Upgrading the viewing room and mortuary area 10,000 
			 Hospice in the Weald Upgrade and refurbishment of patients bathrooms 10,000 
			 Hospiscare—Exeter Home environment project (our second priority application) 49,867 
			 LOROS Leicestershire and Rutland Hospice Meadow walk 66,000 
			 LOROS Leicestershire and Rutland Hospice Sensory room 281,500 
			 Myton Hamlet Hospice Warwick Myton Mortuary development 141,000 
			 Myton Hamlet Hospice (a) Coventry Myton Hospice 2,400,000 
			 Myton Hamlet Hospice Hollies Day Hospice and garden redevelopment 101,500 
			 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust Hospices without walls 24,147 
			 Peace Hospice The Peace Hospice Bid 2: Onwards and Upwards 353,945 
			 Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Redesign and refurbishment of the reception and patient waiting area 136,559 
			 Rotherham Hospice Optimising space 25,000 
			 Royal Marsden Hospital Horder Ward extension and refurbishment 535,000 
			 Sam Beare Hospice Sam Beare Hospice capital grant project 357,850 
			 St. Ann's Hospice (Cheadle) Heald Green Bid 2 (priority bid 2) improvements to inpatient facilities and day care 165,777 
			 St. Ann's Hospice (Day Therapy) Little Hulton Bid 2 (priority bid 2 for this site) improvements to inpatient facilities and day care 87,312 
			 St. Elizabeth Hospice Nurse call system 17,890 
			 St. Helena Hospice Therapies room extension 153,335 
			 St. John's Hospice (London) Improving first impressions 400,000 
			 St. Joseph's Hospice Association Replacement of St. Joseph's Hospice, Ormskirk 1,670,000 
			 St. Luke's Hospice (Harrow) Development of a new multi purpose daycare extension at St. Luke's Hospice increasing patients' dignity and privacy 617,947 
			 St. Mary's Hospice (Selly Park) Refurbishment and redesign of Day Hospice area and entrance 273,355 
			 St. Mary's Hospice (Selly Park) Garden conservatory and garden refurbishment 98,438 
			 St. Oswald's Hospice Breathe Easy Project—installation of medical gas pipeline system 49,199 
			 St. Oswald's Hospice Reception refurbishment 89,742 
			 St. Peter and St. James Hospice St. Peter and St. James hospice improvement scheme, project 2 395,623 
			 Sue Ryder Care (Manorlands) Manorlands Cares 1,137,160 
			 Sue Ryder Care (Wheatfields) Dignity in care improvements, Wheatfields Hospice 892,385 
			 Sue Ryder Specialist Palliative Care Centre (Peterborough) Major expansion of Thorpe Hall Hospice 1,000,000 
			 The Margaret Centre Relocation and rebuilding of the Margaret Centre Specialist Palliative Care Unit 3,841,000 
			 Treetops Hospice Ripple Appeal 300,000 
			  Note: In September 2006, as part of the Dignity in Care Campaign, we announced that £50 million would be made available to enhance the physical environment for older people cared for in hospices. An application process was launched for £40 million, administered on behalf of the Department by Help the Hospices. At our request, Help the Hospices established an independent steering group comprising key figures from the hospice and palliative care movement, clinicians, architects and engineers. This group assessed each application against pre-defined criteria and provided advice to the Department on which applications should be supported. Of 227 bids, 191 schemes in 146 hospices were approved for funding. There were 36 unsuccessful bids and seven hospices without a single bid accepted.

Hospices: Finance

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on public funding for hospices.

Rosie Winterton: The level of funding a hospice receives is a matter for local negotiation between the local primary care trust (PCT), who are responsible for commissioning and funding palliative care services locally, and the hospice.
	The Government have delivered on their commitment to make an additional £50 million per annum available for specialist palliative care for adults. This money is now recurrent in PCT baseline allocations. Voluntary sector children's hospices are receiving funding of £27 million between 2006-07 and 2008-09. In addition, an independent review of the long-term sustainability of children's palliative care (including children's hospices) is being undertaken and its findings will be reported to Ministers shortly.

Hospitals: Admissions

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many finished in-year admissions there were in the NHS in each year since 1990-91.

Andy Burnham: The information on the number of finished in-year admissions is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Data year  Finished in-year admission episodes 
			 1990-91 8,268,853 
			 1991-92 8,451,840 
			 1992-93 9,018,746 
			 1993-94 9,457,746 
			 1994-95 9,642,471 
			 1995-96 10,117,212 
			 1996-97 10,128,826 
			 1997-98 10,454,374 
			 1998-99 10,888,972 
			 1999-2000 11,025,943 
			 2000-01 11,001,094 
			 2001-02 10,969,675 
			 2002-03 11,267,716 
			 2003-04 11,691,694 
			 2004-05 11,988,425 
			 2005-06 12,569,152 
			  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES). The information Centre for Health and Social Care.

Hospitals: ICT

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Care Records Service computer systems have been installed in hospitals.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 19 April 2007
	There are currently 311 hospital-based computer systems deployed through the national programme for information technology that are connected to and use the spine. The spine is the colloquial name given to the national database of key information about patients' health and care. It forms the core of the national health service care records service (NHS CRS). It also supports other key elements of the national programme for information technology, such as choose and book, the electronic prescriptions service, and general practitioner (GP) to GP record transfer, each of them using the spine's messaging capabilities as part of their own services.
	A further 158 systems already deployed through the programme will in due course be enabled to link to the spine following further future releases of the relevant software.

Independent Treatment Centres

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the phase two independent sector treatment centres being negotiated, broken down by strategic health authority; what stage of negotiation has been reached in each case; how many operations each centre is expected to perform per year; and how many staff each centre is expected to employ.

Andy Burnham: The information requested has been placed in the Library. The figures and scheme specifications provided are based on current expected total volumes over the contract period. Independent sector treatment centres contracts stipulate the expected case mix and volume of healthcare to be completed during the five year period of the contract. Actual volumes may change depending on the case mixes that are referred.
	For schemes at preferred bidder stage, the commercial terms between the Department and the preferred bidder are still under negotiation, and are subject to change.

Kanamycin and Neomycin

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what medical uses are permitted of  (a) kanamycin and  (b) neomycin; and how much of each medicine was used in England in each of the last five years.

Caroline Flint: There are no licensed products containing kanamycin in the United Kingdom and there are no records of kanamycin having been prescribed in the national health service in the last five years.
	Neomycin has a number of indications and is licensed both on its own and in combination with steroids and other anti-infectives as follows:
	 in combination with betamethasone (a steroid) for:
	the short-term treatment of steroid responsive inflammatory conditions of the eye when prophylactic antibiotic treatment is also required, after excluding the presence of viral and fungal disease;
	otitis externa or other steroid responsive conditions of the ear where prophylactic antibiotic treatment is also required;
	steroid-responsive inflammatory conditions of the nose where prophylactic antibiotic treatment is also required;
	for the treatment of the following conditions where secondary bacterial infection is present, suspected, or likely to occur:
	eczema in adults and children (aged 2 years and over), including
	atopic and discoid eczemas;
	prurigo nodularis;
	psoriasis (excluding widespread plaque psoriasis);
	neurodermatoses including lichen simplex and lichen planus;
	seborrhoeic dermatitis;
	contact sensitivity reactions;
	insect bite reactions;
	anal and genital intertrigo.
	 in combination with bacitracin (an anti-bacterial) for:
	superficial bacterial infection of the skin, such as impetigo, varicose ulcers, pressure sores, trophic ulcers and burns.
	 in combination with dexamethasone (a steroid) and polymyxin B (an anti-bacterial) for:
	the short-term treatment of steroid responsive conditions of the eye when prophylactic antibiotic treatment is also required, after excluding the presence of fungal and viral disease.
	 in combination with chlorhexidine gluconate as a nasal cream for:
	the eradication of nasal infection with, and carriage of, staphylococci.
	 with triamcinolone acetonide (a steroid), gramicidin and nystatin (anti-infectives) for:
	the treatment of corticosteroid sensitive dermatoses complicated by infections due to micro-organisms sensitive to the anti-infectives.
	 in tablet form for:
	pre-operative sterilisation of the bowel. It may also be useful in the treatment of impending hepatic coma, including portal systemic encephalopathy.
	Usage of neomycin in England is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Prescription items dispensed in the community (Thousand)  Net ingredient cost for the community (£000)  Estimated cost of hospital prescriptions (£000) 
			 2001 364.6 565.7 359.8 
			 2002 347.1 539.3 376.5 
			 2003 363.9 566.3 375.4 
			 2004 348.1 562.5 400.0 
			 2005 361.7 611.7 327.9 
			  Source: Community: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system Hospitals: IMS Health: Hospital Pharmacy Audit

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to reply to the hon. Member for Billericay's letter dated 8 March concerning Mr. O'Reilly.

Ivan Lewis: I regret the letter was not received by the Department. If the hon. Member would forward a copy, I will arrange for it to be dealt with urgently.

Mental Health Services: Children

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her Department's estimated funding is for child and adolescent mental health services in each of the next five years; and what objectives she has set for the use of such funding.

Ivan Lewis: In December 2005 the Department announced that £88.214 million will be allocated to local authorities in 2007-08 via the child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) grant. This grant is to be used by local authorities to improve CAMHS, in accordance with local needs and priorities, as set out in local CAMHS development strategies. In 2006-07, £50 million was made available to strategic health authorities for CAMHS as part of a larger bundle of revenue funding for the national health service. The annual CAMHS mapping exercise shows that overall expenditure on specialist CAMHS increased from £431million in 2004-05 to a projected £513 million in 2005-06, an increase of 19 per cent.
	Funding for CAMHS beyond 2007-08 is being considered as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR). It is anticipated that details of the CSR settlement will be announced in autumn 2007.

Multiple Sclerosis: Charities

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effects of fees for annual inspections from the Healthcare Commission on charitable not-for-profit multiple sclerosis therapy centres.

Andy Burnham: Annual fees to cover the cost of providing assessment and registration services are approved by the Secretary of State for Health, after consideration of proposals submitted by the Healthcare Commission. Assessment of the effects of fees is therefore for the Commission in the first instance.
	The Healthcare Commission consulted on its 2007-08 independent healthcare sector fee proposals between 20 December 2006 and 20 February 2007. I understand from the Chairman of the Commission that during the consultation period it received numerous representations from providers asking that fees should be reduced for hospices and voluntarily funded establishments using type 3 hyperbaric oxygen chambers.
	The Healthcare Commission revised its proposals after considering the comments it received. For 2007-08, annual fees for multiple sclerosis therapy centres have been reduced from £1,566 to £1,225, a reduction of 22 per cent. This is the first time that regulatory fees under the Care Standards Act 2000 have been reduced. Fees for first time registrations have increased from £907 to £990.

NHS Direct

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 442-43W, on NHS Direct, what the average cost per call to NHS Direct was in the most recent period for which figures are available in the same format as that provided in the answer to the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) of 8 September 2003,  Official Report, column 236W, on NHS Direct.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is not held centrally. This is a matter for the chief executive of the new NHS Direct NHS Trust.

NHS Treatment Centres: Private Sector

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Healthcare Commission expects to publish its interim report on the review of independent sector treatment centres.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 23 April 2007
	I understand the Healthcare Commission (HC) has decided not to publish an interim report on the quality of clinical care provided by the independent sector treatment centres (ISTCs) because of problems with the quality and coverage of the initial ISTC data. They took the view that publishing an interim report would present only a partial and confusing picture of the findings of the review. As a result of the improvement in the data quality and completeness of the ISTC submissions, the HC felt that the review would be best serviced by focusing efforts on producing the final report, not an interim publication.

NHS: Complaints

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) second and  (b) third stage complaints have been processed through the NHS complaints procedure in each of the last five years.

Andy Burnham: Since July 2004 to date, the Healthcare Commission has responsibility for independent review (the second stage of the national health service complaints process) of complaints which have not been satisfactorily resolved by the provider at the first stage. Prior to July 2004, the NHS itself was responsible for reviewing complaints at the second stage, through independent review panels. Therefore the sets of data have been collected by two separate organisations, produced in different ways and consequently are not directly comparable. The Healthcare Commission has provided the following information on cases received for review, and numbers completed:
	
		
			   Received  Completed 
			 31 July 2004-31 March 2005 5,867 839 
			 1 April 2005-31 March 2006 7,644 7,366 
			 1 April 2006 to date 7,505 9,421 
			 Total 21,016 17,626 
		
	
	The following information relates to cases processed at second stage by the NHS prior to July 2004, on cases requesting independent review, and cases referred to independent review panels within each year:
	
		
			   Requests  Referred to independent review panel 
			 2001-02 3,339 606 
			 2002-03 3,600 450 
			 2003-04 3,739 416 
			 1 April 2004-30 July 2004 897 324 
			  Note: Not all requests would have been referred to an independent panel; but they would all have undergone some degree of second stage process in order to determine whether consideration by an independent review panel would be appropriate. 
		
	
	Complaints that are not resolved at stage two may be referred to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), the third stage of the complaints procedure. Therefore information on numbers of NHS complaints processed at the third stage is held by the PHSO and is not collected by the Department of Health nor held centrally. The information can be obtained by request to the PHSO direct at www.ombudsman.org.uk

NHS: Finance

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on NHS financial performance in the year 2006-07.

Andy Burnham: On the basis of results reported at quarter 3 2006-07, we believe that the national health service is on course to at least deliver a balanced financial position at the end of the 2006-07 and continues to perform well against key service targets.
	This strengthened financial position is a clear sign that the NHS is delivering against the strict financial targets we have set, and be in a position to start 2007-08 in robust financial health.

NHS: IT

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what audit has been undertaken of the deliverability of the volume of clinical bookings it is planned to make on the new NHS IT system.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 23 April 2007
	Proof of solution testing before the system went live in 2004 demonstrated that the choose and book system would be able to perform satisfactorily when dealing with the design target for bookings during the peak hour, that is some 8,400 bookings per hour, which is equivalent to 15.8 million bookings per year. This test was repeated in 2005.
	In addition, as part of the 2004 tests a scalability test was conducted to demonstrate that the system could scale beyond the peak hour rate (8,400). The system was tested up to 280 per cent. of the peak hour level (up to 23,000 bookings per hour).
	The capacity and performance of the system is kept under regular review to ensure that it remains fit for purpose, including any expansion of the system to deal with additional bookings.

NHS: Standards

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in developing a common assessment framework, as referred to in paragraph 5.26 of her Department's White Paper "Our Health, Our Care, Our Say".

Ivan Lewis: The Department has convened a policy collaborative, which includes representation from a range of stakeholders across health and social care, to advise on the development of policy proposals for a common assessment framework for adults. The policy collaborative has met three times since it was launched in October 2006.

Obesity

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of  (a) adults and  (b) children were diagnosed as (i) overweight and (ii) obese in each year since 1997; and what estimate she has made of the number of (A) adults and (B) children who were (i) overweight and (ii) obese in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: The main source of data on the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children and adults is the Health Survey for England (HSE). The information is not available in the format requested. The information on the estimated number of overweight and obese adults and children in England is unavailable, as the HSE reports on percentages rather than the numbers.
	Table 1 sets out the proportion of men and women who are overweight and obese in England from 1997 to 2005.
	
		
			  Table 1:  O verweight and obesity prevalence among adults, by gender, 1997 to 2005, England 
			  Percentage 
			 Unweighted( 1)  Weighted( 1) 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2003  2004  2005 
			  Men 
			 Overweight 45.2 45.5 43.9 44.5 46.6 43.4 44.4 45.5 43.4 43.2 43.9 42.6 
			 Obese 17.0 17.3 18.7 21.0 21.0 22.1 22.9 23.6 22.1 22.2 22.7 21.2 
			  
			  Women 
			 Overweight 32.8 32.1 32.8 33.8 32.9 33.7 33.4 34.7 32.9 32.6 33.9 32.1 
			 Obese 19.7 21.2 21.1 21.4 23.5 22.8 23.4 23.8 21.9 23.0 23.2 21.5 
			  
			  Bases 
			 Men 3,685 6,600 3,204 3,260 6,267 2,969 5,966 2,444 2,930 6,519 2,772 3,144 
			 Women 4,254 7,730 3,699 3,703 7,414 3,509 7,090 3,135 3,409 6,570 2,812 3,184 
			  Note: Data from 2003 onwards have been weighted for non-response. Unweighted data for 2003 onwards are provided for consistency with previous years which are also unweighted.  Source: Health Survey for England 2005—updating of trend tables to include 2005 data. The Information Centre 
		
	
	Table 2 sets out the proportion of boys and girls who are overweight or obese in England, from 1997 to 2005.
	
		
			  Table 2: Overweight and obesity prevalence among children aged 2 to 15, by gender, 1997 to 2005, England 
			  Percentage 
			 Unweighted( 1)  Weighted 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2003  2004  2005 
			  Boys 
			 Overweight 13.0 14.6 14.4 12.4 15.0 13.7 14.6 13.7 15.9 14.6 13.9 15.7 
			 Obese 12.7 13.0 16.4 14.5 15.5 16.9 17.0 18.9 18.0 17.0 19.2 18.3 
			  
			  Girls 
			 Overweight 13.1 13.6 13.5 12.7 15.2 13.9 14.4 16.3 12.8 14.6 16.6 12.9 
			 Obese 12.4 13.8 13.7 14.2 14.5 17.1 16.1 17.8 18.1 16.1 18.5 18.3 
			  
			  Bases (weighted) 
			 Boys 3,063 1,981 977 877 1,653 3,745 1,410 645 1,077 1,452 624 1,102 
			 Girls 3,069 1,872 950 841 1,699 3,636 1,444 579 1,135 1,393 581 1,091 
			  Note: From 2003 data were also weighted for non response. Data weighted for child selection only are provided for consistency with previous years.  Source: Health Survey for England 2005 - updating of trend tables to include 2005 data. The Information Centre

Obesity: Health Services

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many primary care trusts  (a) have set up and  (b) are in the process of setting up weight management clinics;
	(2)  how many GP practices have established weight management services within their clinics.

Caroline Flint: There are 13 national health service operated obesity clinics for children and adults located across England. Information on the number of primary care trusts (PCTs) who are in the process of setting up weight management clinics and the number of general practitioner practices that have established weight management services within their clinics is not held centrally.
	It is up to PCTs as local commissioners and providers of services to determine the most appropriate methods to deliver health care to their populations, based on clinical need and effectiveness, as well as local circumstances, drawing on the available evidence.

Obesity: Health Services

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of her Department's funding is spent on obesity mangement services.

Caroline Flint: Managing obesity is a complex issue with no simple solution as it is both a cause and consequence of many physiological and psychological health problems. In addition, it requires partnership working at a national and local level, primary care trusts and local authorities are the key delivery organisations in preventing and managing obesity. It is up to these organisations, as local commissioners and providers of services, to determine the most appropriate methods to deliver health care to their populations, including interventions on obesity. Decisions are based on clinical need and effectiveness, as well as local circumstances, drawing on the available evidence. As these services are commissioned locally and are likely to range from clinical interventions to community based services, it is difficult to make any assessment of overall spending in this area, as we do not have detailed breakdown of funding.

Obesity: Health Services

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps her Department is taking to ensure compliance with National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines on obesity;
	(2)  what resources will be made available in order to meet the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines on obesity in 2007-08.

Caroline Flint: NICE (National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence) guidance is explicitly included in Standards for Better Health, which sets out the Government's high level expectations for the health service. The developmental standards on clinical and cost effectiveness and public health require that national health service organisations should be making progress towards implementation of NICE clinical guidelines and public health including the guidance on obesity. It is anticipated that assessment by the Healthcare Commission of progress in implementing NICE obesity guidance will be made as part of the 2007-08 annual health check.
	Primary care trusts, as local commissioners and providers of services, determine the most appropriate methods to deliver health care to their populations, based on clinical need and effectiveness, as well as local circumstances, drawing on the available evidence.

Out-patients: Gravesend Hospital

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her estimate is of the change in the number of patients missing appointments since clinics were transferred from Gravesend Hospital to Darent Valley Hospital.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Primary Care Trusts

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  who drafted the original  Official Journal of the European Union notice on primary care trust commissioning published on 29 June 2006;
	(2)  what involvement Mr. Paul Corrigan had in drafting the original  Official Journal of the European Union notice on primary care trusts commissioning published on  (a) 29 June 2006 and  (b) subsequent versions;
	(3)  which  (a) Ministers,  (b) special advisers, (c) officials and  (d) non-departmental staff (i) saw and (ii) signed off the original  Official Journal of the European Union notice on primary care trusts commissioning published on 29 June 2006 before it was published.

Andy Burnham: The  Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) notice was published on 17 June 2006 and was drafted by the Department of Health's Commercial Directorate. The Prime Minister's special adviser for health was not involved in the drafting of the notice or subsequent versions.
	Where a procurement neither constitutes a major policy announcement, nor carries major financial risk to the Secretary of State, a Director General has delegated authority to act, and can sign off an OJEU notice. Under this authority, and following normal process, the Director General of the Commercial Directorate signed off the OJEU notice published on 17 June.

Prisons: Drugs

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 15 March 2007, Official Report, column 552W, on Prisons: Drugs, over what time scale the funding announced on 28 September 2004 is planned to be spent.

Caroline Flint: In 2004 the Department announced funding for the clinical element of integrated drug treatment system (IDTS) of £20 million in 2006-07 rising to £40 million in 2007-08. This was reduced to £12 million in 2006-07 following the wider review of the Department spending. For 2007-08 the Department's funding will rise to £12.7 million.
	Alongside this, the Home Office funded the psycho-social elements of IDTS, investing £5 million in 2006-07. This contribution is expected to rise to around £6 million for 2007-08.

Pseudoephedrine

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish the advice she has received on making over the counter medicines containing pseudoephedrine available on prescription only.

Caroline Flint: There has been increasing concern from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) that pseudoephedrine and ephedrine can be extracted from over the counter (OTC) remedies relatively easily and used in the manufacture of methylamphetamine. Methylamphetamine was reclassified on 18 January 2007 by the Home Office as a Class A controlled drug, based on the recommendation of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD).
	Although the prevalence of misuse of methylamphetamine is believed to be currently low in the United Kingdom, ACPO are receiving increasing levels of intelligence about the prevalence of methylamphetamine. If methylamphetamine did secure a hold in the UK, the consequences would undoubtedly be very serious. The international experience shows that misuse can spread rapidly when certain conditions prevail and the advice of UK enforcement authorities is that most of these conditions now prevail in the UK.
	In January 2007 the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) considered the evidence of a risk to public health from OTC availability of the precursors to methylamphetamine, pseudoephedrine and ephedrine. The evidence to date centres on advice from ACPO and SOCA that the availability of methylamphetamine is increasing, evidenced in part by the increase in the number of illicit laboratories manufacturing methylamphetamine found by the police in the UK. The police have identified in specific cases that multiple packs of particular pharmacy pseudoephedrine containing products had been purchased and used in the illicit manufacture of methylamphetamine. They have also identified that, in part, these packs were obtained from numerous pharmacies to obtain adequate quantities for manufacturing.
	The CHM recommended that changing the legal status of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine together with restricting the pack size was necessary to protect public health in the UK and that a consultation exercise should be conducted on these proposals. Ministers accepted this advice and a full public consultation exercise commenced on 7 March 2007 and can be accessed via the MHRA's website at:
	www.mhra.gov.uk

Smoking

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans her Department has to publicise the change in the age at which tobacco can legally be purchased;
	(2)  what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on measures to ensure that the increase in the age for the legal purchase of tobacco is not accompanied by abuse, intimidation or violence as a result of refusal of sale; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The change in the minimum age for selling tobacco from 16 to 18 will come into force on 1 October 2007. Communication plans are in development and the Department is in discussion with key stakeholders. The Department will focus on publicising the change in age to the two most affected groups: retailers and teenagers.
	The Department and Home Office have discussed the issue at official level. It is not expected that the rise in the age of sale will result in serious intimidation or violence against shopkeepers. This has not been the experience in other countries for example like Ireland where the minimum age for tobacco sale has been changed recently. Trading Standards guidance for retailers will include advice on handling intimidation by customers refused sale because they cannot prove that they meet the minimum age.

Smoking

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations she has received on the implementation of the smoking ban in working men's clubs; and if she will make a statement.

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received on the effect on the viability of working men's clubs of the introduction of the smoking ban.

Caroline Flint: Working men's clubs and other such clubs have been consulted at all stages of consideration of the Health Act 2006 and its implementation. We continue to work closely with organisations representing working men's clubs in the run up to the implementation of the smoke free provisions of the Health Act 2006 on 1 July 2007.

Smoking

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps have been taken to inform owners of restaurants, hotels and public houses of the smoking ban which comes into place on 1 July.

Caroline Flint: Through the Smokefree England campaign, the Department is delivering a major communications campaign to support businesses to be prepared for the implementation of smokefree legislation on Sunday, 1 July 2007. Recent surveys by the Department show extremely high levels of awareness among the hospitality industry and customers.
	Information on the new law is available from the freephone Smokefree England information line on 0800 169 169 7 and on the Smokefree England website at www.smokefreeengland.co.uk. The website has received nearly 250,000 visits to date.
	The Department has developed a range of guides on the new law. A guidance pack, including a guide, no-smoking signs and other support materials is being sent to all businesses in England that employ staff during April. Guidance documents can be downloaded from the Smokefree England website, and will be available in a range of different languages and formats, including a downloadable MP3 audio version.
	A Ministerial Reference Group comprising key stakeholders was created last year to facilitate dialogue between business groups including representatives from the hospitality industry, local government and the Department, and has met regularly. The Department also continues to work closely with organisations that represent the hospitality industry to increase awareness of the new legislation among their constituents.
	Local councils are also working to build compliance in their communities. Local businesses are advised to contact their local council for advice and support in implementing smoke free legislation.

Written Questions

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when she expects to reply to question 109396, on accident and emergency services for heart disease and stroke patients, tabled by the hon. Member for St. Ives on 11 December 2006;
	(2)  when she expects to reply to question 109385, on heart disease and stroke patients, tabled by the hon. Member for St Ives on 11 December 2006.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 23 April 2007
	A reply has been given today.

York Capio Centre

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 25 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 2052-54W, on the York Capio Centre, why the Minister cannot release information about  (a) the number of procedures contracted and carried out for NHS patients at this centre and  (b) the relative cost to the primary care trust of purchasing procedures from this centre and York NHS Hospital Trust; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The Clifton Park National Health Service Treatment Centre is expected to deliver approximately 10,000 procedures over the five year contract period. At the end of January 1,817 procedures had been delivered for NHS patients. Primary care trusts pay for the services provided at NHS tariff or at costs equivalent to the NHS costs for such services.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum: Democratic Republic of Congo

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what effect he expects recent political violence in Democratic Republic of the Congo to have on the repatriation of failed asylum seekers to that country.

Liam Byrne: Asylum and human rights claims made by those from the Democratic Republic of Congo continue to be considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations and taking full account of the latest available information about the conditions in the country as they impact on the individual claimant.

Asylum: Sudan

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers from Darfur  (a) applied for asylum and  (b) were returned to Sudan in each of the last four years.

Liam Byrne: This information is not available in the format requested. The Border and Immigration Agency does not electronically record the region from which asylum applicants originate. That information would be available only by examination of individual case files at disproportionate cost.
	Information on the nationality of asylum applications and removals is published quarterly and annually. Information on the number of asylum applicants removed from the UK, broken down by nationality, is produced regularly in the annual Asylum Bulletin. Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office research, development and statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Crime: Alcoholic Drinks

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact of alcohol consumption on crime; and what data he collects on this.

Vernon Coaker: There are two main sources of information on alcohol-related crime: the British crime survey and the offending, crime and justice survey.
	The BCS provides information on the proportion of violent incidents in England and Wales where the offender was thought to be under the influence of alcohol. According to the latest BCS (2005-06) the offender was thought to be under the influence of alcohol in 44 per cent. of violent incidents, which is approximately the same as the figure for the previous year (48 per cent.). The estimated number of violent incidents where the offender was thought to be under the influence of alcohol was 1,029,000 based on the BCS interviews in 2005-06.
	The OCJS asks questions about people's participation in alcohol-related crime and disorder. The 2005 OCJS found that being drunk once a month or more was a risk factor for offending among 10 to 25-year-olds. Further analysis of the 2003 survey revealed that, among 18 to 24-year-olds, those respondents identified as 'binge drinkers' (defined as those who drank alcohol and felt very drunk at least once a month in the last 12 months) were more likely to offend than other regular drinkers and non-drinkers. Young male binge drinkers were twice as likely to commit a violent offence than other young male regular drinkers. Binge drinkers were also more likely to commit criminal or disorderly behaviour (such as getting into a fight or damaging something) during or after drinking than other regular drinkers.
	The 2004 OCJS found that among those aged between 10 and 17 years old, those who drank once a week or more committed more offences than those who drank less frequently or not at all. Again, a higher proportion of those who drank alcohol once a week or more reported committing criminal damage and theft offences during or after drinking than those who drank less frequently.

Crimes of Violence

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding was allocated to tackling  (a) gun crime and  (b) knife crime in each round of funding from the connected fund programme since its introduction; and to which groups that funding was given.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 16 April 2007
	 Since being established in May 2004, the connected fund has allocated approximately £1.2 million over five rounds, funding 300 projects in England and Wales. The projects funded focus on tackling gun crime, knife crime and gangs. Many of the projects cover a wide range of issues with the aim of helping young people at risk of becoming involved in violent crime, and it is not possible to identify an exact figure spent specifically on gun crime or knife crime from the fund.
	Full details of projects funded can be found on the Connected website:
	www.connected.gov.uk.

Domestic Violence

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many copies of the Domestic Violence: an MPs Guide  (a) leaflet and  (b) supplementary booklet were printed; what the cost was of each; and how they were distributed to hon. and right hon. Members.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The development of the guide came about as an action from the inter-ministerial group on domestic violence. Its intention is to provide MPs with information on what they can do if they are approached by a constituent affected by domestic violence.
	We initially placed 23 mock-up copies of the guide in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament on 6 March. A further 30 mock-up copies were distributed at an event attended by MPs on 6 March. We have printed a further 1,000 guides, 23 of which will replace the mock-up in both Libraries.
	To reach a wider audience and ensure greater distribution of this resource, PDF versions of both the leaflet and a supplementary booklet are available on the Home Office's Crime Reduction website. The supplementary booklet will not been printed.
	The cost of producing the leaflet and supplementary booklet was approximately £1,500. The production costs for 1,000 copies were £380.69, and the design service costs, based on 30 hours work at £36.40 per hour, were £1,092.

Domestic Violence

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 1 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1507W, on domestic violence, in how many and what percentage of domestic violence incidents dealt with by the police  (a) the presence and  (b) the residence of a child present was recorded at the incident.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is not collected centrally by the Home Office.

Domestic Violence

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of incidences of domestic violence reported to each police force involved  (a) male and  (b) female victims in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 27 February 2007,  Official Report, column 1222W. This gave figures from the British Crime Survey for incidents of domestic violence in England and Wales. The BCS does not have these data at police force area level and so the information requested is not available.

Fines: EC Law

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department has taken to implement the EU Council framework decision 2005/214/JHA on the application of the principle of mutual recognition to financial penalties.

Joan Ryan: We are working towards implementation of the framework decision but it is not yet possible to indicate when we will do so because primary legislation will be required for implementation in England and Wales.

Human Trafficking: Children

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which agency is responsible for the welfare of victims of child trafficking once they have been identified.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 23 April 2007
	Local authority children's services have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children including those that are thought to have been trafficked. Following an assessment of their circumstances and under section 20 of the Children Act 1989, a local authority has a duty to provide accommodation for any child within its area if it considers that the child is in need of care. Using the powers vested in them by the Children Act 1989 where there is a risk to the life of the child or a likelihood of serious harm, the local authority or police are required to act quickly to secure the immediate safety of the child.

Immigration: Telephone Services

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many calls were received by his Department's immigration matters helplines from hon. Members' offices in each year since 2001.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 20 April 2007
	 The Border and Immigration Agency MPs' hotline received 119,695 telephone calls from Members of Parliament, the House of Lords and members of the devolved assemblies during the period 1 June 2003 to 31 March 2007, which is the only period where statistical information is available.

Police: Internet

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) non-emergency and  (b) hate crime incidents were recorded and submitted through the police.uk website in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: h olding  answer 20 March 2007
	 : All forces have their own websites that were linked to the police portal. The portal had a national crime and hate crime incident reporting facility as well as other capabilities including message broadcasting. However, the portal was not well used by the public and few forces used its other capabilities. The links have therefore been suspended and the Association of Chief Police Officers and the National Policing Improvement Agency are working together to find an alternative solution that recognises forces internal capability. In the period January 2006 to February 2007 52,321 non-emergency and 2,827 hate crime incidents were submitted.

Prisons: Smuggling

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many HM Prison Service employees are being monitored as suspected of trafficking contraband; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Staff corruption investigations are undertaken by prisons or at area manager level and information of this type is not collected centrally. It could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Tobacco

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the black market currency value of  (a) a single cigarette,  (b) a standard packet of 20 cigarettes and  (c) 50 grams of hand-rolling tobacco in each prison establishment where a total no smoking ban has been introduced; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: None. Strategies are in place to manage the security risks posed by contraband and other articles which can be used as currency in a prison setting. Discipline issues have been taken into account in drawing up arrangements to implement anti-smoking legislation in prisons.

Schools: Crime

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences against the person carried out on school property were reported to police in each year since 1997; and how many of these offences involved as the victim  (a) a teacher,  (b) a pupil,  (c) other staff and  (d) a parent, broken down by local authority area.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available from the recorded crime statistics. Offences occurring on school property cannot be separately identified and no data is collected on the status of victims.

Schools: Crime

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences of  (a) theft and  (b) criminal damage from (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools were reported to police in each year since 1997; and how many and what percentage of those cases resulted in the arrest of a school pupil, broken down by local authority area.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not available from the recorded crime statistics. Offences occurring on school property cannot be separately identified and information is not collected on the status of those arrested.

Vladimir Ismaili

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department why the Albanian Vladimir Ismaili was granted bail after his recent conviction for human trafficking following a joint investigation by Manchester and Warwickshire police; and whether he has been recaptured.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 20 April 2007
	The decision of whether to bail or remand a defendant into custody is at the discretion of the court which must follow the clearly set out procedures in the Bail Act 1976. It would not be appropriate for the Government to pass comment on the actions of the court in this particular case.
	Mr. Ismaili was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in his absence on 22 December 2006 for false imprisonment, two counts of trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation, causing or inciting prostitution for gain and blackmail, and is still at large. A warrant for his arrest has been issued by the court.

Youth Justice Board

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2007,  Official Report, column 976W, on the Youth Justice Board, if he will provide a list of the Youth Justice Board's research studies and the corporate targets and outcome measures to which each relates.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Youth Justice Board has published a list of its research studies and the corporate targets to which each relates in the Youth Justice Board Research Strategy 2006-08. I have arranged for a copy to be placed in the Library of both Houses. The report is also available on the YJB website at http://www.yjb.gov.uk.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

House of Commons Commission: Manpower

John Maples: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many people are employed by the Commission; and how many of those employees earn over £60,000 per annum.

Nick Harvey: As at 31 March 2007, the Commission employed 1,657 staff of which 85 were paid at an annual rate of over £60,000.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing Countries: Health Professions

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures his Department has in place to assist developing countries in retaining their health workers.

Gareth Thomas: In last year's International White Paper, DFID committed to help developing countries solve their staffing crises by supporting training, providing staff incentives to work in underserved countries and increasing support for community health workers.
	In Malawi, DFID has provided £100 million over six years to fund an innovative emergency human resource programme to support the training, recruitment and retention of health workers. This programme will double the number of Malawian nurses and treble the number of Malawian doctors.
	The UK has drawn up a code of conduct for the international recruitment of healthcare professionals. This actively prevents the NHS from recruiting health workers from low and middle-income countries unless there is a Government-Government agreement in place to manage the process.

Developing Countries: HIV Infection

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what work is being undertaken by his Department to assist developing countries in tackling mother to child transmission of HIV/AIDS.

Gareth Thomas: DFID is intensifying action on tackling mother to child transmission of HIV at country level. In Zimbabwe, DFID has initiated a £25 million project specifically to address maternal and newborn health and HIV. In Malawi, where DFID is the major donor in the health sector, with an investment of £100 million over the period 2004-10, a rapid scale-up in preventing mother to child transmission (PMTCT) services is taking place. During 2005, 5,000 of 7,000 HIV positive pregnant women received a complete course of antiretroviral prophylaxis. In Zambia, we support UNICEF's expansion of PMTCT.
	In 2006 DFID supported research in the Republic of Congo and Uganda which demonstrated that pregnant women with HIV are between four to five times more likely to die as a result of pregnancy and childbirth than non-infected women. DFID is tackling stigma and discrimination that prevents women accessing PMTCT by funding education and mass-media campaigns in Angola, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
	In addition to core funding to UNICEF, DFID has provided over $1.5 million to an 'Accelerating Action for Children Affected by HIV and AIDS' programme. This gives focus to the "4 Ps—Protection, Prevention, PMTCT and Paediatric AIDS". DFID is also participating in a US-led HIV and AIDS paediatric public-private partnership which seeks to develop formulations of HIV drugs suitable for children in developing countries together with the pharmaceutical industry.

HIV Infection: Drugs

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to remove trade barriers that prevent the production and distribution of generic medicines for HIV/AIDS.

Gareth Thomas: We are working closely with our colleagues across Government to facilitate access to generic medicines.
	For World Trade Organisation members, trade in medicines is governed by the agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS). We are pleased that TRIPS has been permanently amended to allow for generic versions of patented medicines to be produced and exported under compulsory licence. EU producers are able to use this system, which was implemented by legislation agreed under the UK's presidency of the EU.
	DFID is working with a number of international organisations, including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, to help developing countries to build capacity so that they are able to make use of the TRIPS flexibilities provisions related to the production and distribution of generic medicines, including those for HIV/AIDS.

World Bank

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the Government's position regarding Paul Wolfowitz's presidency of the World Bank.

Hilary Benn: At the spring meetings of the World Bank on 15 April, I and my fellow Governors agreed the following section of the development committee communiqué, dealing with the allegations against President Wolfowitz:
	"We have to ensure that the Bank can effectively carry out its mandate and maintain its credibility and reputation, as well as the motivation of its staff. The current situation is of great concern to all of us. We endorse the board's actions in looking into this matter, and we asked it to complete its work. We expect the Bank to adhere to a high standard of internal governance."
	We expect the World Bank executive directors to meet again this week to discuss the next steps.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Ambulance Services: Standards

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average journey time was for ambulances stationed at each hospital in Northern Ireland to respond to emergency calls in their catchment area in the last period for which figures are available; and on how many occasions this average was exceeded by more than 50 per cent.

Paul Goggins: The information requested is not held centrally and will take some time to collate. I will write to the hon. Gentleman as soon as the information becomes available and place a copy in the Library.

Desmond Clayton

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2007,  Official Report, column 190W, on Desmond Clayton, whether his Department  (a) gave and  (b) approved any job reference for Mr. Clayton after the termination of his employment at the Northern Ireland Police Fund.

Paul Goggins: The Department neither gave nor approved any job reference for Mr. Clayton after the termination of his employment at the Northern Ireland Police Fund.

Football: World Cup

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the inclusion of Northern Ireland in a bid to host the 2018 football World Cup.

Maria Eagle: I have had no discussions with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport as the Government study, published in February 2007, was to assess the feasibility of holding a future World Cup in England.

Further Education: Student Wastage

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the drop-out rates of each further and higher education institution in Northern Ireland were in each of the last three years; what assessment he has made of the impact of the payment of tuition fees on drop-out rates; and what funding has been allocated by his Department to reducing drop-out rates.

Maria Eagle: Non-continuation rates for each of the Northern Ireland further education institutions for the last three years are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  College  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Armagh College 8 7 12 
			 Belfast Institute 14 17 20 
			 Castlereagh College 16 11 18 
			 Causeway Institute 24 23 20 
			 East Antrim Institute 7 9 15 
			 East Down Institute 8 11 17 
			 East Tyrone College 16 17 17 
			 Fermanagh College 10 12 12 
			 Limavady College 22 21 16 
			 Lisburn Institute 10 10 14 
			 Newry and Kilkeel Institute 10 9 12 
			 North Down and Ards Institute 8 12 18 
			 North East Institute 17 1 0, 12 
			 North West Institute 12 14 16 
			 Omagh College 7 10 15 
			 Upper Bann Institute 19 18 15 
			 Total 13 13 16 
			  Source:  FESR 
		
	
	The latest available data on non-continuation rates for full-time first degree entrants for each of the higher education institutions is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  University  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04 
			 Queen's University, Belfast 6.6 6.9 8.1 
			 St. Mary's University College 4.0 6.8 6.4 
			 Stranmillis University College 2.4 1.9 3.9 
			 University of Ulster 12.6 12.8 14.7 
			 Total 6.4 7.1 8.3 
		
	
	No assessment has yet been made of the impact of the payment of (variable) tuition fees on drop-out rates. It is likely that this has had minimal impact as students in the system prior to September 2006 are unaffected by the new arrangements. Furthermore, from academic year 2006-07, a new student finance package has also been introduced to ensure that new entrants from lower income backgrounds are not disadvantaged by the new arrangements. A review of the new arrangements, including participation rates, is planned for 2008-09.
	The Department for Employment and Learning allocates a total of £4.6 million annually to the further education colleges and higher education institutions in the form of support funds. These funds are specifically earmarked for the purpose of providing assistance for students who may be discouraged from participating in further or higher education due to financial hardship. These funds provide a greater safety net and help to reduce drop-out rates among students experiencing financial difficulties after starting their course.
	The Department also pays the universities a widening participation premium for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Funding of £1.25 million is provided to cover the costs incurred in recruiting and retaining students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are more likely to drop out.

Graffiti

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to his answer of 6 April 2007,  Official Report, column 196W, on graffiti, for what reasons the Department of the Environment does not hold information on the cost of removing graffiti.

David Cairns: Under Article 18 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 it is for district councils to decide whether or not to remove graffiti. They do not, therefore, have a duty to remove it and there is no requirement on the Department of the Environment to collect data on graffiti removal costs. The information may be held by individual district councils.

Higher Education: Pay

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in resolving the pay dispute in higher education in Northern Ireland.

Maria Eagle: There is no pay dispute in higher education, although the further education lecturers' pay claim was not recommended for approval by the public sector pay committee. College employers and lecturers' trade unions have now been asked to re-engage in order to prepare revised pay proposals, in line with pay policy guidelines. The Department will continue to liaise with the further education sector on the scope for devising amended pay proposals within the limits set by pay policy.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the implications of the increase in the estimated cost of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games for the allocation of funding to lottery good causes in  (a) North Down and  (b) Northern Ireland.

Maria Eagle: The allocation and distribution of Lottery funds is a reserved matter with responsibility lying with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The decision on the Lottery will be subject to affirmative resolutions in both Houses.

Paedophilia

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what meetings have taken place in 2007 between the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and senior representatives of the Roman Catholic church about child sexual abuse; and what information about child sexual abuse was provided at these meetings in relation to  (a) each diocese fully within Northern Ireland and  (b) each diocese that straddles the border with the Republic of Ireland.

Paul Goggins: To date, there have been no joint meetings in 2007 between the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and senior representatives of the Roman Catholic church about child sexual abuse.

Physical Education

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many hours of physical education per week were provided to school children in schools in each education and library board area in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years; and what steps he is taking to increase the time provided.

Maria Eagle: The Department does not collect the information requested. The education and training inspectorate monitors the provision of PE, and other aspects of the curriculum, as part of routine inspection in schools. While the Department does not specify the amount of time schools should spend on any particular subject, schools are encouraged to provide at least two hours of physical activity per week. It is for schools to determine how much time is devoted to PE, which is a compulsory part of the revised curriculum for all pupils from foundation to key stage 4.

Physical Education: Teachers

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many  (a) full-time and  (b) part-time physical education teachers there were in each education and library board area in Northern Ireland in each of the last six years.

Maria Eagle: The Department of Education does not hold this information. However, I have been advised by the chief executives of the five education and library boards and the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools, who employ teachers that the south eastern, western and Belfast ELBs and CCMS do not hold this information and that staffing is a matter for individual boards of governors.
	The Southern ELB has advised that it holds current information only. It has 67 physical education teachers, 43 of whom teach on a full-time basis, while the remaining 24 also teach other subjects.
	The north eastern ELB has also advised that it holds current information only. It has 87 full-time and four part-time physical education teachers.

Police Service of Northern Ireland: Payments

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the total unpaid rent to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in each district in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months.

David Hanson: The Northern Ireland Housing Executive's total rent and rates arrears is £11,407,571 out of a total rent bill of £265 million. The rent and rates arrears have accumulated over previous years.
	The following table details the amount of rent and arrears owed by current Housing Executive tenants split by district office at 31 March 2007.
	
		
			  NIHE district office  Rent and rate arrears at 31 March 2007 (£) 
			 Belfast 1 383,262 
			 Belfast 2 598,945 
			 Belfast 3 330,779 
			 Belfast 4 665,658 
			 Belfast 5 598,750 
			 Belfast 6 421,302 
			 Belfast 7 673,274 
			   
			 Bangor 501,238 
			 Newtownards 472,461 
			 Castlereagh 583,634 
			 Lisburn 530,568 
			 Lisburn 3 320,878 
			 Downpatrick 292,731 
			   
			 Banbridge 200,385 
			 Newry 303,460 
			 Armagh 137,651 
			 Lurgan/Brownlow 239,407 
			 Portadown 203,049 
			 Dungannon 193,894 
			 Fermanagh 163,350 
			   
			 Ballymena 201,858 
			 Antrim 228,827 
			 Newtownabbey 1 280,484 
			 Newtownabbey 2 205,091 
			 Carrick 198,817 
			 Larne 125,044 
			 Ballycastle 78,137 
			 Ballymoney 101,534 
			 Coleraine 318,687 
			   
			 Waterloo Place 177,438 
			 Waterside 444,780 
			 Collon Terrace 299,995 
			 Limavady 193,376 
			 Magherafelt 166,189 
			 Strabane 253,259 
			 Omagh 197,807 
			 Cookstown 121,572 
			   
			 Northern Ireland total 11,407,571

Public Libraries: Bangor

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made with the renovation work to Bangor library's Hamilton road premises; how much the work was originally forecast to cost; whether the work is on budget and on schedule; when he expects the refurbished library to open; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: Work to refurbish and extend the Bangor library commenced on 2 April 2007 and is expected to take approximately 18 months to complete. The project has been approved at a cost of some £2.3 million and to date it is on budget and on schedule.

Public Libraries: Bangor

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made by his Department in identifying a suitable permanent facility for Bangor library whilst renovation work is carried out at its Hamilton road premises.

Maria Eagle: The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure is the sponsor department for the Northern Ireland public library service but responsibility for delivering the service, including securing appropriate library accommodation for this area, rests with the south eastern education and library board (SEELB).
	Since October 2006, the SEELB has been seeking to identify suitable alternative temporary premises and renovation work started during the week commencing 16 April 2007 on two units in the Flagship Shopping Centre to make them suitable for library use. Bangor library will open in these temporary premises by 21 May 2007 and will remain there until the completion of the new library in approximately 18 months. Until 21 May, a library service will be provided from a mobile library outside the Hamilton road library.

Queen's University Belfast: Medicine

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many graduate students  (a) applied for and  (b) enrolled in medical degrees at Queen's university, Belfast in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The number of graduate entrants students applying for and enrolled in the school of medicine at Queen's university Belfast, is set out in the following table. The number of applicants in the period 2002-04 is not available.
	
		
			  Year of entry  Applicants  Entrants 
			 2002 n/a 11 
			 2003 n/a 5 
			 2004 n/a 10 
			 2005 68 15 
			 2006 75 13 
			  Source: QUB

Special Educational Needs

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many primary school children in Northern Ireland were given initial assessments by educational psychologists to determine special educational needs in each of the last five years, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Maria Eagle: The number of primary school children who were given initial assessments by educational psychologists to determine special educational needs in each of the last five years is set out in the following tables. The figures refer to the first direct contact an educational psychologist had with a primary school pupil at any stage of the code of practice on the identification and assessment of special educational needs. This information is not available by parliamentary constituency as education and library board areas do not correspond to constituency areas. A response has therefore been provided by ELB area.
	
		
			   BELB( 1)  NEELB( 1)  SEELB( 1) 
			 2002 645 606 611 
			 2003 610 544 593 
			 2004 521 590 601 
			 2005 433 557 614 
			 2006 396 488 598 
			 (1) Calendar years 
		
	
	
		
			   SELB( 1)  WELB( 2) 
			 2001-02 571 688 
			 2002-03 668 760 
			 2003-04 724 756 
			 2004-05 810 656 
			 2005-06 596 772 
			 (1) Academic years (2 )Financial years

Specialist Schools

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many special schools have been built in Northern Ireland since 1986.

Maria Eagle: Since 1986, 21 special schools have been built in Northern Ireland. In addition, 11 special schools have had capital funding approved for the replacement of existing school buildings and these are either still in the planning stages or under construction.

Suicide

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what service will be provided to other areas of Northern Ireland for suicide prevention during the extended pilot period for the suicide prevention telephone helpline scheme.

Paul Goggins: In conjunction with the development of the telephone helpline pilot scheme, a substantial community support funding package has been rolled out to help communities with the development of initiatives that will help achieve a reduction in the levels of suicide and self-harm. Of the £1.9 million available to support the implementation the suicide prevention strategy in 2006-07, approximately £900,000 was allocated as part of this package. A sizeable portion of this funding was invested in those groups and organisations that specifically target people who are at a high risk of suicide, and who provide support for families bereaved by suicide.
	In line with the increased funding of £3 million available for the implementation of the strategy in financial year 2007-08, the suicide strategy implementation body recently recommended to the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety that the community support package funding should be doubled to £1.8 million. Allocations are currently under consideration.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

British Nuclear Group: Research

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether British Nuclear Group sites apart from Sellafield have retained body parts for scientific purposes; and whether consent to do so has always been sought.

Malcolm Wicks: My right hon. Friend announced on 18 April that he had asked Mr. Michael Redfern QC to carry out an investigation into certain post mortem examinations and further analysis carried out at Sellafield. If it comes to light that anyone working at British Nuclear sites apart from Sellafield was affected, I would expect that information to be part of Mr. Redfern's considerations.

Business: Ethics

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what plans his Department has to improve corporate social responsibility;
	(2)  what steps he plans to take forward the Government's corporate social responsibility strategy.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 20 April 2007
	The Government encourage high standards of corporate behaviour and as such support the development and take up of corporate social responsibility. We do so by
	raising awareness and promoting best practice;
	setting decent minimum standards;
	providing an enabling policy environment;
	encouraging adherence to international standards of business behaviour.
	CSR is a cross-Government agenda and the Government will continue to pursue this policy through:
	supporting relevant international standards and initiatives.
	For example, a tri-partite body of officials from DTI, DfID and FCO to promote the OECD Guidelines for multinational enterprises, the UN global compact which brings companies together with UN agencies, trade unions and civil society.
	offering advice and guidance to business, for example, through Envirowise, WRAP and the Carbon Trust.
	raising awareness and promoting best practice, for example through support for the business in the community annual awards for excellence and the CSR academy.
	encouraging transparency for example through the business review requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Business: Ethics

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many organisations joined the corporate social responsibility academy in each calendar year since it was established.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 20 April 2007
	The CSR Academy was not a membership organisation. It was set up to improve the take up and development of the skills and competences for CSR practice through:
	the development and promotion of a framework of core skills needed to integrate CSR practices into organisations of any size.
	the academy website which contained a training and development map that was used as a tool to signpost users to CSR training and development opportunities.
	Between 2004 and 2006
	Over 5,000 companies registered to use the framework.
	Around 300 large companies and over 900 SMEs attended masterclasses and regional events.

Companies: Savings

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take steps to ensure that money paid by employees into Christmas and holiday savings schemes administered by their employers is protected in the event that the company goes into administration.

Ian McCartney: As we have recently announced, the Christmas savings scheme industry (also known as the hamper industry) will be introducing safeguards for pre-payments made by customers through independently controlled, ring-fenced trust accounts. The trust accounts will be controlled by independent trustees, not by the companies, with money credited to customers in the event of the company going into insolvency.
	Employees taking part in Christmas savings schemes administered by employers who have signed up to these proposals will receive the same protection as any other customer. Although the scheme is voluntary, we would expect new players to this industry to comply with these standards.

Departmental Reorganisation

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the future shape of his Department.

Jim Fitzpatrick: My right hon. Friend regularly talks to the Chancellor of the Exchequer about a variety of issues.

Energy: Meters

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consultation he has undertaken with  (a) the Energy Retail Association,  (b) companies in the energy sector and  (c) manufacturers of energy metering devices on proposals to make smart meters available to every home.

Malcolm Wicks: Metering in both the domestic and business gas and electricity markets, including smart metering, was the subject of a recent public consultation as part of the energy review. The Department has also had further discussion with a range of interested parties, including the Energy Retail Association, energy suppliers and metering manufacturers. The Government will announce proposals on how to go forward on metering in the forthcoming energy White Paper.

Energy: Meters

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the total cost of installing smart meters in every home in the United Kingdom.

Malcolm Wicks: In 2006, the industry regulator, the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) estimated that the total cost of installing and maintaining one-way smart meters could be up to £5-8 billion. The Government will set out their views on metering, including smart meters, in the energy White Paper.

Equal Opportunities: EC Countries

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will bring forward proposals to ensure the equal treatment of workers across the European Union.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The European Union has agreed a number of measures for the equal treatment of workers across the EU. Proposing any further measures is a matter for the European Commission, having consulted with the European social partners. Such measures must be agreed by both the European Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to increase funds for the Low Carbon Buildings Programme for  (a) households and  (b) (i) public, (ii) not for profit, and (iii) commercial organisations.

Malcolm Wicks: In October 2006, we reallocated funds from within the Low Carbon Buildings Programme to increase funds available to householders from £6.5 million to £12.7 million. In the Budget 2007, a further £6 million was made available for the household stream, taking the total available for householders to more than £18 million.
	In addition to this, £15.8 million has been made available for public, not for profit, and commercial organisations.
	The Low Carbon Buildings Programme phase 2 has set aside £50 million for public and not for profit organisations.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to raise the level of funding caps for applications to the Low Carbon Buildings Programme for  (a) households and  (b) public, not for profit, and commercial organisations.

Malcolm Wicks: In the Budget 2007, it was announced that a further £6 million will be made available for the household stream of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, taking the total available for householders to more than £18 million.
	In addition to this, £15.8 million has been made available for public, not for profit and commercial organisations.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to establish a waiting list for applications for grants from the Low Carbon Buildings Programme; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: In the Budget 2007, it was announced that an additional £6 million will be made available to the household stream of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, taking the total available for householders to more than £18 million.
	Before deciding how to make best use of the extra funding, the household stream will be suspended for the monthly allocation in April so that it can be reshaped. Proposals will be brought forward in May.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment his Department has made of the likely demand for household grants under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08.

Malcolm Wicks: Since the Low Carbon Buildings Programme was launched in April 2006, we have allocated £7.2 million to 4,550 household applicants.
	In the Budget 2007, it was announced that a further £6 million will be made available to the household stream of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, taking the total available for householders to more than £18 million.
	We aim to continue funding until June 2008, by which time some of our wider measures to promote microgeneration should be taking hold.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many households were allocated grants under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme on 1 March 2007; and what advice he is giving households who were unsuccessful in their applications to the programme.

Malcolm Wicks: We allocated Low Carbon Buildings Programme grants to 189 household applicants in March 2007.
	In the Budget 2007, it was announced that a further £6 million will be made available to the household stream of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, taking the total available for householders to more than £18 million.
	We aim to continue funding until June 2008, by which time some of our wider measures to promote microgeneration should be taking hold.

Manufacturing Industries

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what incentives his Department provides to businesses seeking industrial premises for manufacturing;
	(2)  what assistance his Department makes available to regional development agencies and local authorities to provide adequate land and accommodation for small business start-ups in the manufacturing sector;

Margaret Hodge: This Department, along with five other Government Departments, provides funding to the regional development agencies through the single- pot funding mechanism. This allows the agencies to tailor their support according to regional needs as determined by their economic strategies. Some of this is spent on land and accommodation and some on small business start-ups.
	In addition, European funding is available to the English regions, including local authorities, through the European regional development fund and this can be used to provide support to manufacturing.
	This Department does not provide any funding to local authorities.

Natural Gas: Planning Permission

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to reduce the length of time taken to commission the construction of gas infrastructure projects following initial planning application prior to the implementation of the measures expected in the planning White Paper.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Preseli, Pembrokeshire (Mr. Crabb) on 26 February 2007,  Official Report, column 1057W.
	In addition, I should say that the time taken to commission gas infrastructure projects can be affected by a range of commercial or technical factors, or delays in the determination of planning applications. Commercial and technical issues are for developers themselves to resolve, although the DTI works to ensure that no unnecessary regulatory barriers to development delay the timely construction of facilities.
	In order to avoid any unnecessary delays in determining planning applications, the DTI has held information seminars, in conjunction with the Health and Safety Executive and British Geological Survey for local councillors and planning officers in relevant regions. They have covered the general context for such projects, as well as safety aspects and the factors that can influence the siting of developments.

Packaging

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent discussions he has had with manufacturers of consumer goods including food in respect of the levels of packaging provided.

Malcolm Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 23 April 2007,  Official R eport, column 949W.

Post Offices

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made with his Department's consultation on the future of the post office network.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department received over 2,500 responses to the public consultation which formally closed on 8 March. We are giving full consideration to the comments submitted and hope to be in a position to announce final decisions in May.

Radioactive Wastes

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to consult on new radioactive waste arisings should the approval be given for new build of nuclear power plants.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department plans to launch a consultation in May on the future role of nuclear power. This will include consideration of a full range of issues around potential new build including the impact of new build on waste management and decommissioning.
	The Government plan to launch a further consultation in the summer as part of the managing radioactive waste safely programme, which will consider all the issues relevant to implementation of geological disposal. This consultation will discuss the potential changes to the current waste inventory that would arise as a result of any new build.

Small Business Service

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Small Business Service has taken to place more emphasis on cross-governmental working since the Government's cross-cutting review of Government services for small business in 2002.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 22 January 2007
	The Small Business Service works across Government to support small businesses and encourage enterprise. Following the cross-cutting review of Government services for small business the Small Business Service:
	established senior-level cross-Whitehall officials' groups dealing with a range of priority areas e.g.: business support simplification, regulation, frontline and on-line small businesses services;
	identified Ministers to act as champions in every Government Department. So for instance, this month I have written to colleagues seeking their support in promoting November's enterprise week.

Telecommunications: Consumers

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what steps Ofcom has taken since March 2005 to prevent telecommunications companies transferring customers from one provider to another without their knowledge;
	(2)  how many complaints about telecommunications companies transferring customers from one provider to another without their knowledge were received by Ofcom in 2006;
	(3)  what steps the Government is taking to prevent telecommunications companies from transferring customers from one provider to another without their knowledge.

Margaret Hodge: The matter raised is the responsibility of the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which is accountable to Parliament rather than Ministers. Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of Ofcom to reply directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the chief executive's letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

TRANSPORT

A358

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate he has made of the number of vehicles  (a) the new A358 dualled northbound exit junction from the M5 will carry and  (b) the existing A358 between the M5 and A303 carries each day (i) on average and (ii) at peak times of the year.

Stephen Ladyman: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The estimate of the average daily traffic flow in the design year (2032) used for assessment purposes in the current option study on the northbound link from the M5 to the A358 is 4,000 vehicles (low growth forecast) and 5,900 vehicles (high growth forecast).
	 (b) (i)(ii) The observed average daily two-way traffic flow on the A358 was 27,750 vehicles at Henlade and 22,050 at Capland in 2004 with average flows at peak times of the year of 28,300 and 23,000 vehicles respectively. This is the latest year for which full data is currently available.

A358

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the impact of building at the site of the new A358 dualled northbound exit junction from the M5 on  (a) (i) the level of noise and (ii) the level of pollution experienced by local residents and  (b) local house prices.

Stephen Ladyman: A stage 2 environmental assessment of the A303/A358 South Petherton to M5 Taunton improvement has been undertaken. This includes consideration of noise and air pollution impacts in the vicinity of the proposed northbound exit junction from the M5.
	 (a ) (i) A number of properties at Blackbrook are predicted to experience an increase in noise of between 1 and 2 dB(A). The average increase in noise levels at Blackbrook is predicted to be approximately 1 dB(A) which is not considered to be significant as it cannot be noticed by the human ear.
	 (a ) (ii) In the scheme opening year, assumed for assessment purposes to be 2017, all pollutant concentrations are predicted to be well below their respective air quality objectives and lower than the 2004 base year levels due to newer, less polluting vehicles on the roads and lower background pollution concentrations from road transport and energy generation.
	 (b) An assessment of the impact on house prices has not yet been undertaken.

A358

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the budget is for the new A358 dualled northbound exit junction from the M5, including the construction of a bridge; and what percentage of that budget has been allocated.

Stephen Ladyman: The Highways Agency is currently investigating options for the dualling of the A358 between the A303 and the M5 at Taunton. A budget has not been approved for the implementation of the scheme.
	The A358/A303 is designated as a route of regional importance and is therefore subject to the regional funding allocation process.

Aircraft

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what average cabin floor space is allocated to  (a) first,  (b) business and  (c) economy class aircraft passengers.

Gillian Merron: This is a matter for individual airlines. Generally, first class and business class cabin configurations provide passengers with a greater amount of seat space than economy class cabins. Scheduled economy seats may afford more legroom than charter flights. For economy/charter passengers additional seat space is usually only available at seat rows leading to emergency exits.
	The Department has no information about averages across airlines. There are non-government websites which aim to collate this information for passengers.

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures are in place to limit the amount of money spent on alcohol for hospitality purposes by his Department.

Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport's expenditure on hospitality is conducted in accordance with the principals of "Government Accounting" and the Treasury handbook on "Regularity and Propriety".

Departments: Oral Questions

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many questions tabled by hon. and right hon. Members to his Department for oral answer have been transferred to other Departments since May 2005.

Gillian Merron: None.

Departments: Voluntary Organisations

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which voluntary organisations his Department consulted in 2006; and how many times they were consulted.

Gillian Merron: The Department consulted voluntary organisations routinely in 2006, both through numerous public consultations and through targeted direct approaches to specific or groups of organisations, including those in the voluntary sector. It is not possible to quantify the scale or number of those engagements across the breadth of the Department's remit.

Fares: Derbyshire

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received from  (a) Derbyshire county council and  (b) Derbyshire bus operators on the use of the toolkit to determine the cost of concessionary fare schemes; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The toolkit is part of guidance issued by the Department to travel concession authorities to help them calculate concessionary fare reimbursement. It was put together following consultation with the concessionary fares working group, which consists of representatives from local authorities and the bus industry. Derbyshire county council was represented on the group.
	As of 23 April 2007, two bus operators have lodged appeals to the Secretary of State for Transport against the Derbyshire county-wide concessionary travel scheme for 2007-08, disputing the level of reimbursement offered by the authority. No representations have been received from Derbyshire county council. However, during the appeals process, the bus operators and the authority will be given opportunities to provide evidence and to respond to each other's submissions. Determinations of the appeals will be made in due course.

Invalid Vehicles

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to publish his recommendations following the review of class two and class three powered wheelchairs and powered scooters (invalid carriages) published in July 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: This research, published by the Department in February 2006, looked at a range of issues, many of which are complex and require careful consideration. An announcement will be made later in the year on the way forward.

Motor Vehicles: Accidents

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in what proportion of the 5 per cent. of motor vehicle accidents resulting in injury where exceeding the speed limit was an identified factor  (a) the involvement of stolen vehicles,  (b) the involvement of the vehicle in the execution of a crime,  (c) the involvement of emergency vehicles,  (d) the driver being under the influence of drink or drugs and  (e) other factors contributed to the accident.

Stephen Ladyman: The proportion of reported personal injury road accidents which had 'exceeding the speed limit' as a contributory factor, that also had  (a) stolen vehicles,  (b) vehicle in the course of crime,  (c) emergency vehicles on a call,  (d) influenced by alcohol or drugs or  (e) other major factors as contributory factors is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Other contributory factors reported in personal injury road accidents which had 'exceeding the speed limit' as a contributory factor, GB: 2005 
			  Contributory factor  Number  Percentage 
			 Stolen vehicle 233 3.2 
			 Vehicle in course of crime 112 1.5 
			 Emergency vehicle on a call 30 0.4 
			 Impaired by alcohol 1,090 14.9 
			 Impaired by drugs (illicit or medicinal) 131 1.8 
			
			  Other factors:   
			 Loss of control 2,361 32.3 
			 Careless, reckless or in a hurry 2,261 30.9 
			 Travelling too fast for conditions 1,616 22.1 
			 Failed to look properly 1,561 21.3 
			 Aggressive driving 1,191 16.3 
			 Failed to judge other person's path or speed 1,151 15.7 
			 Poor turn or manoeuvre 842 11.5 
			 Slippery road (due to weather) 798 10.9 
			 Any other factor(1) 1,394 19.1 
			 Total number of accidents involving 'exceeding the speed limit' 7,314 100.0 
			 (1) Contributory factors which independently accounted for less than 10 per cent. of accidents which had 'exceeding the speed limit' as a contributory factor. 
		
	
	It is important to note that the driver who had 'exceeding the speed limit' as a contributory factor in an accident may not be the same driver who had 'stolen vehicle' (or one of the other contributory factors) as a contributory factor.

Motor Vehicles: Registration

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his answer of 27 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1381W, on motor vehicles: registration, what steps are being taken to ensure that foreign registered vehicles used in the UK for more than six months in any 12 months are being registered and licensed.

Stephen Ladyman: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is running a pilot scheme to help educate those using foreign registered vehicles in this country about the rules surrounding their use. Those who break these rules risk direct enforcement action involving the wheel clamping and impounding of the vehicle. The pilot has been introduced on a limited basis and at this stage involves vehicles registered in a small number of European member states only. The results will be shared with the EU commission and other member states with the aim of introducing an EU-wide enforcement system.

Pedicabs

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the safety and roadworthiness of pedicabs; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Department has not made any specific assessment of the safety and roadworthiness of pedicabs. However, as road vehicles, pedicabs must comply with road traffic law including road vehicle lighting regulations, and with the Highway Code.
	Bicycles and tricycles with a saddle height of not less than 635 millimetres and every cycle with four or more wheels must comply with the requirements of the Pedal Cycles (Construction and Use) regulations 1983.

Railway Track

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many applications under Section 17 of the Railways Act 1993 for a track access agreement have been made by regional new rail companies; and how many have been  (a) rejected and  (b) accepted.

Tom Harris: Applications for track access agreements under section 17 of the Railways Act 1993 are dealt with by the Office of Rail Regulation. Two prospective new railway companies have made applications under section 17. Grand Central Railway Company Limited has made two applications; one was rejected and one was approved. Wrexham Shropshire and Marylebone Railway Company has made two applications: one was withdrawn and one is currently under consideration.

Railways: Bicycles

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the additional 1,000 railway carriages recently announced will be constructed to carry bicycles.

Tom Harris: It is too early to comment on the design of the additional rolling stock. Regrettably, there will always be constraints on the ability to accommodate non-folding bicycles at peak times, with the competing pressures on space from increasing passenger numbers.

Road Traffic Offences: Foreigners

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what account his Department has taken of the enforcement of civil traffic penalties against foreign registered vehicles in  (a) plans for a national road user charging scheme and  (b) the forthcoming road transport Bill;
	(2)  what account has been taken within his Department's road pricing feasibility studies of the enforcement of civil penalties against the keepers of foreign registered vehicles.

Stephen Ladyman: No decisions have been taken on a national road pricing scheme. The 2004 feasibility study considered enforcement issues but not specifically in relation to foreign registered vehicles. The need to provide an effective civil enforcement system is being addressed by the Department and those local authorities developing local road pricing schemes. The first priority though is to design schemes that are as easy as possible to use and understand—and which will ensure high levels of compliance by domestic and foreign vehicles. We will be publishing a draft Bill for consultation later in the spring and will welcome a debate on its provisions then.

Rolling Stock

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how the additional 1,000 new railway carriages recently announced will be allocated to operating companies; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Harris: It is too early to say where precisely the additional rolling stock will be used. The deployment of new rolling stock will be agreed with the industry following the publication of the high level output specification and the long term rail strategy this summer, in accordance with the periodic review timetable set out in the Office of Rail Regulation's advice to Ministers published in February 2007.

Rolling Stock

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the extra 1,000 train carriages announced on 14 March 2007 are expected to be in use.

Tom Harris: I anticipate that orders for additional carriages will be placed between now and 2010, with a view to delivery between 2009 and 2013. The precise phasing of the orders will reflect where crowding relief is most urgently needed; Network Rail's timetable for any platform-lengthening or increase in power supply which is required to accommodate longer trains; and the capacity of the suppliers of rolling stock.

West Coast Mainline: Rolling Stock

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of the 1,000 new carriages that will come into use between 2009 and 2014 will be assigned to the West Coast main line.

Tom Harris: It is too early to say where precisely the additional rolling stock will be used. The deployment of the new rolling stock will be agreed with the industry following the publication of the high level output specification and the long term rail strategy this summer, in accordance with the periodic review timetable set out in the Office of Rail Regulation's advice to Ministers published in February 2007.

WALES

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much was spent on hospitality by his Department in the financial year 2006-07.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office spent £14,279.62 on hospitality in 2006-07.

Olympic Games: Greater London

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has made within Government in the last 12 months about securing benefits to Wales from the 2012 Olympics.

Peter Hain: I have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues about matters affecting Wales including the 2012 Olympics.
	Wales has an important contribution to make, both to the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Cultural Olympiad. Both will present superb opportunities to raise Wales' international profile as a visitor destination and to promote new economic development opportunities and trading partnerships at home and abroad.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Benefit Fraud

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the savings to his Department from detected benefit fraud were in each year since 1997, broken down by benefit.

James Plaskitt: The information requested is not available by individual benefit and comparable information is only available since 1999-2000. The available information is set out in the following tables. The figures in the tables represent the amount of fraud actually detected by the Department's officials, and reflect the monetary value of adjustment (MVA).
	The MVA is the difference between the weekly amount of benefit that would have been paid or would have continued to be paid, and the benefit actually paid following the decision maker's decision on the information gathered. It includes both increases and decreases. The MVA scheme was introduced from 1 April 1999.
	 Instrument of payment fraud
	Due to the increase in the number of customers who are paid by direct payment (around 98 per cent. of our customers are now paid in this way, compared to around 34 per cent. in 1999), there has been a very large reduction in the amount of instrument of payment fraud, as shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Instrument of Payment MVA (£) 
			 1999-2000 20,470,863 
			 2000-01 15,302,840 
			 2001-02 9,322,117 
			 2002-03 9,217,555 
			 2003-04 7,916,299 
			 2004-05 4,474,984 
			 2005-06 2,824,939 
		
	
	 General matching service
	DWP can data match information from across a number of sources, to check:
	Whether customers continue to be entitled for benefit; or
	That customers' benefit is being paid correctly.
	Data matching enables the Department to find inconsistencies in information and therefore identify where people are committing fraud (in addition to identifying customer and official error). For example, if someone was paying national insurance contributions on earned income at a time when their benefit claim showed that they had no earnings, clearly something is wrong.
	The MVA in respect of the Department's general matching service is as follows, and shows the increased success of various data matching exercises in detecting fraud:
	
		
			   General Matching Service MVA (£) 
			 1999-2000 951,885 
			 2000-01 1,034,865 
			 2001-02 1,340,080 
			 2002-03 1,672,893 
			 2003-04 1,577,042 
			 2004-05 1,056,966 
			 2005-06 1,324,906 
		
	
	 Other benefit fraud
	Benefit fraud MVA not including MVA from instrument of payment fraud and general matching service fraud is as shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Benefit fraud MVA (£) 
			 1999-2000 6,561,497 
			 2000-01 5,771,922 
			 2001-02 5,720,786 
			 2002-03 5,167,365 
			 2003-04 5,095,564 
			 2004-05 5,190,263 
			 2005-06 5,104,595

Big Brother Project

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the Department's projected allocation to the Big Brother project is for the next five years;
	(2)  how much the Department has spent on the Big Brother project for single unemployed parents since the project's inception.

Jim Murphy: The information requested is not available centrally as the Department does not make allocations to that level of detail and can therefore be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Children: Maintenance

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what targets the Government have in relation to parents with care in receipt of benefits receiving no maintenance; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the chief executive. He will write to the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 24 April 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what targets the Government has in relation to parents with care in receipt of benefits receiving no maintenance; and if he will make a statement.
	Parents with care in receipt of benefit represent a large proportion of the Agency's caseload. As such, all the Agency's targets relate to them. However, the Agency has two targets that specifically cover parents with care in receipt of benefits:
	The DWP Public Service Agreement (PSA) Target "to increase the proportion of parents with care on income support or income-based Jobseeker's allowance who receive maintenance for their children to 65% in march 2008".
	The maintenance outcome target as published in the Child Support Agency Business Plan 2006/07—"By March 2007, in 65 per cent. of cases across both the new and old schemes in which a liability to pay maintenance exists, the non-resident parent has either made a payment via the collection service or a Maintenance Direct arrangement is in place. In addition, further ensuring that at least this level of performance is achieved for those new scheme cases in which the parent with care is on Income Support of income-based Jobseeker's Allowance".
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Community Care Grants

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many applications for community care grants have taken  (a) under one week,  (b) between one and two weeks,  (c) between two and three weeks,  (d) between four and five weeks and  (e) over five weeks to process since January 2006;
	(2)  how many applications for budgeting loans have taken  (a) under one week,  (b) between one and two weeks,  (c) between two and three weeks,  (d) between four and five weeks and  (e) over five weeks to process since January 2006.

Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 24 April 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking how many applications for Community Care Grants and Budgeting Loans have taken  (a) under one week,  (b) between one and two weeks,  (c) between two and three weeks,  (d) between four and five weeks, and  (e) over five weeks to process since January 2006. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The clearance time for an individual application is measured in whole working days from the date the application is received to the date the decision is taken (on whether to make a Community Care Grant award or a Budgeting Loan offer), plus, if a Budgeting Loan offer is made, the number of whole working days between receiving the applicant's reply to the offer and the recording of that reply.
	The information requested is in the table.
	
		
			  Number of applications cleared from January 2006 to January 2007 inclusive in Great Britain 
			  Working days to clear  Community care grants  Budgeting loans 
			 Less than 5 184,200 1,449,300 
			 5 to 10 inclusive 257,200 311,300 
			 11 to 15 inclusive 106,500 47,600 
			 16 to 20 inclusive 49,200 10,000 
			 21 to 25 inclusive 20,500 2,400 
			 More than 25 21,400 2,900 
			  Source:  DWP Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System. 
		
	
	I hope this is helpful.

Departments: Sick Leave

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many working days were lost  (a) in his Department and  (b) in agencies reporting to his Department due to sickness and injury in 2006.

Anne McGuire: The available information is contained in the following table. It was obtained from the computer systems managers use to record absences.
	Separate information on sickness absence and absences recorded as injury for November and December, is temporarily unavailable. This is due to a change in the Department's computer system.
	Absences relating to injury are recorded against a category of 'Injury and Poisoning'. This includes, for example, the toxic effects of alcohol or drugs, any surgical procedures, and road traffic accidents. It is not possible separately to identify cases relating to injuries.
	The Appeals Service transferred out of the DWP on 31 March 2006 and their absence information is included until this date.
	
		
			   Working days lost 
			  Business  Sickness  I njury/poisoning 
			 Jobcentre Plus 589,561 75,322 
			 Pension Service 93,387 18,237 
			 Child Support Agency 104,758 17,611 
			 Corporate Centre 73,633 13,234 
			 Disability and Carers Service 47,741 9,846 
			 Appeals Service 1,627 173 
			 DWP overall 910,707 134,423

Disability and Carers Service: Pay

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what bonus system is in place for Disability and Carers Service staff.

Anne McGuire: Information concerning Disability and Carers Service staff is a matter for their Chief Executive, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Vivien Hopkins, dated 24 April 2007:
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what bonus system is in place for Disability and Carers Service staff.
	The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service. In his absence, I am replying.
	DWP operates an individual performance bonus scheme for employees in all of its Businesses including the Disability and Carers Service. Non-consolidated bonus payments are awarded to employees on the basis of their individual performance, which is assessed as part of the Departmental Performance and Development system. Individual performance bonuses are paid after the completion of the performance year.
	In addition to this, DWP have also paid team bonuses to selected units within the Department. No team bonus schemes have run since 2004/2005.
	Teams and individuals may also be entitled to modest Special Bonus payments in recognition of particular pieces of exceptional work. These payments can be made at any time at the discretion of the local manager either as cash amounts or in the form of a high street voucher.
	I trust this is helpful.

Disability Living Allowance

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the forms issued by his Department for disability living allowance claims were last amended; and what the reasons were for these amendments.

Anne McGuire: The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for the chief executive of the disability and carers service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Terry Moran, dated 24 April 2007:
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the forms issued by his Department for disability living allowance claims were last amended; and what the reasons were for these amendments.
	The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service. The Disability Living Allowance claim forms, DLA1 Child, DLA1A Child, DLA434 Child, DLA434 Adult, DLA300, were last amended in February 2007. They were available with effect from 19 February 2007.
	The amendments were made as part of the ongoing maintenance of claim forms. The changes involved were relatively minor and included asking for the nationality of the parent/guardian; updating the Inland Revenue website address; leaflet titles and the method of payment wording; adding the opening times for "Contact a Family"; a statement to make it clear that GPs are not part of the decision making process; and improving the information to customers claiming under special rules and for customers in hospital or other accommodation. This list is not exhaustive.
	Additionally the DLA1 Adult and the DLA1A Adult claim forms were last amended in December 2005 when the civil partnership came into force. There was a minor update to these forms in June 2006 to clarify the information for customers who are claiming under the special rules.
	The DLA Adult claim forms have been given a new look and will be introduced at the end of April 2007. These new look claim forms have received a Crystal Mark.
	I hope this is helpful.

Helplines

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the  (a) average speed of response to calls and  (b) proportion of failed calls was for each helpline operated by or on behalf of his Department in each year since 1997.

Anne McGuire: The information that is available is shown in the table. Information is not available for any DWP helpline prior to 2000-01.
	Certain helplines do not collate or have information available on average speed of answering calls. The data provided for these helplines (x per cent. of calls answered in y seconds) is the closest comparable indicator.
	Failed calls are those that are not presented to the contact centre due to technical reasons, such as system failures.
	
		
			  DWP helpline  Year  Average speed of answer in seconds  Proportion of failed calls (percentage) 
			 CSA(1) 2002-03 56 12 
			  2003-04 135 13 
			  2004-05 100 4 
			  2005-06 59 2 
			  2006-07(2) 27 2 
			 
			 DCS helpline(3) 2000-01 23 per cent. in 30 seconds — 
			  2001-02 18 per cent. in 30 seconds — 
			  2002-03 17 per cent. in 30 seconds — 
			  2003-04 26 per cent. in 30 seconds — 
			  2004-05 37 per cent. in 30 seconds — 
			  2005-06 82 0.4 
			  2006-07(2) 85 0.5 
			 
			 Benefit Inquiry Line(3) 2000-01 93 per cent. in 60 seconds — 
			  2001-02 88 per cent. in 60 seconds — 
			  2002-03 59 per cent. in 30 seconds — 
			  2003-04 48 per cent. in 30 seconds — 
			  2004-05 31 per cent. in 30 seconds — 
			  2005-06 137 — 
			  2006-07(2) 34 0.4 
			 
			 Jobcentre Plus Direct—First Contact(4) 2004-05 66 per cent. in 20 seconds — 
			  2005-06 64 per cent. in 20 seconds — 
			  2006-07(2) 76 per cent. in 20 seconds — 
			 
			 Jobcentre Plus Direct—Jobseeker Direct(4) 2004-05 51 per cent. in 20 seconds — 
			  2005-06 74 per cent. in 20 seconds — 
			  2006-07(2) 84 per cent. in 20 seconds — 
			 
			 Jobcentre Plus Direct—Employer Direct(4) 2003-04 80 per cent. in 20 seconds — 
			  2004-05 82 per cent. in 20 seconds — 
			  2005-06 85 per cent. in 20 seconds — 
			  2006-07(2) 90 per cent. in 20 seconds — 
			 
			 Jobcentre Plus Direct—NiNO Allocations(4) 2005-06 80 per cent. in 20 seconds — 
			  2006-07(2) 87 per cent. in 20 seconds — 
			 
			 Jobcentre Plus Direct-National Benefit Fraud Hotline(4) 2004-05 71 per cent. in 3 seconds — 
			  2005-06 78 per cent. in 3 seconds — 
			  2006-07(2) 96 per cent. in 20 seconds — 
			 
			 Pension Centres(5) 2004-05 — 1.1 
			  2005-06 81 per cent. in 30 seconds 0.7 
			  2006-07(2) 84 per cent. in 30 seconds 0.7 
			 
			 Future Pension Centre(5) 2004-05 — 0.4 
			  2005-06 49 per cent. in 30 seconds 0.1 
			  2006-07(2) 55 per cent. in 30 seconds 0 
			 
			 International Pension Centre(5) 2004-05 — 0.1 
			  2005-06 66 per cent. in 30 seconds 0 
			  2006-07(2) 70 per cent. in 30 seconds 0 
			 
			 Pension Credit Application Line(5) 2003-04(6) 94 per cent. in 30 seconds — 
			  2004-05 87 per cent. in 30 seconds 2.3 
			  2005-06 78 per cent. in 30 seconds 1.1 
			  2006-07(2) 90 per cent. in 30 seconds 0.6 
			 
			 Pensions Guide Orderline(5) 2005-06 91 per cent. in 30 seconds 0 
			  2006-07(2) 88 per cent. in 30 seconds 0 
			 
			 Pensions Information Orderline(5) 2004-05 — 4.6 
			  2005-06 85 per cent. in 30 seconds 2.5 
			  2006-07(2) 89 per cent. in 30 seconds 1 
			 
			 Pensions Direct(5) 2004-05 — 0 
			  2005-06 72 per cent. in 30 seconds 0.6 
			  2006-07(2) 83 per cent. in 30 seconds 0 
			 
			 Reinstatement of Deficiency Notice Project(5,7) 2004-05 — 0 
			  2005-06 82 per cent. in 30 seconds 0 
			  2006-07(2) 94 per cent. in 30 seconds 0.8 
			 
			 Retirement Pension Tele Claims(5) 2004-05 — 0 
			  2005-06 82 per cent. in 30 seconds 1 
			  2006-07(2) 80 per cent. in 30 seconds 1 
			 
			 Winter Fuel(5) 2004-05 — 4.5 
			  2005-06 71 per cent. in 30 seconds 0.1 
			  2006-07(2) 86 per cent. in 30 seconds 0 
			 (1) CSA does not hold sufficiently robust information prior to 2002. (2) Figures for April 2006 to December 2006. (3) DCS Helpline and Benefit Inquiry Line does not hold information on failed calls prior to 2005. (4) Jobcentre Plus Direct do not collate information centrally on failed calls due to technical reasons. First Contact Service went live in June 2004. Nino Allocations Service went live in October 2005. Prior to 2004-05 the telephony systems were not advanced enough to provide service level data. (5) The Pension Service was launched in April 2002 and the majority of helplines were fully operational by August 2003. Robust data on the percentage of calls answered within 30 seconds is available for most helplines from September 2005. (6) Data for period September 2003 to March 2004, as PCAL did not become fully operational until September 2003. (7) Helpline started taking calls from November 2004.

Incapacity Benefit

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his assessment is of the principal causes of the trend in the real value of total public spending on incapacity benefits since 1995-96; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: Real-terms expenditure on working age incapacity benefits has fallen by around 10 per cent. since 1995-96.
	A key reason for the decline in expenditure over this period is the continued reduction (since April 1995) in the number of claimants who receive protected and higher amounts of contributory invalidity benefit, the predecessor to incapacity benefit. This is an ongoing and gradual process, occurring as people have flowed off the benefit, for example through retirement.
	In 1995-96, 85 per cent. of expenditure on incapacity benefits was on the protected ex-invalidity benefit. This proportion had fallen to around 50 per cent. in 2001-02 and was around a third in 2005-06.

IT Projects

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on  (a) information technology projects generally and  (b) web-facing projects in each year since 2001, broken down by (i) expenditure on consultants and (ii) other costs.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions undertakes a large number of projects which deliver business change and policy initiatives. IT changes are an enabling component of many projects. The number of projects in train at any one time will vary and the duration of the project lifecycle is often more than one calendar year.
	The following table provides information by financial year of expenditure on IT projects and web-facing projects since 2001 and includes only those projects where the IT element is such that non-delivery of the IT would significantly damage the project's ability to deliver its intended results.
	The information required is not readily available for some projects that were implemented a number of years ago or is not available in the format required. This may be the total spend and/or the spending on consultants. The cost of obtaining such information would not be reasonable.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   IT projects  Web-facing projects 
			   Spending  Consultants spending  Spending  Consultants spending 
			 2001-02 225.38 23.41 2.60 0.00 
			 2002-03 455.41 84.96 3.50 0.00 
			 2003-04 604.52 156.06 8.92 0.19 
			 2004-05 422.84 123.06 20.08 1.45 
			 2005-06 433.26 127.16 15.18 3.70 
			  Note: The "spending" represents the investment costs of the project, the "consultants spending" represents the amount of investment spending on consultants.

Jobcentre Plus: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what average time Jobcentre Plus took to process applications for  (a) community care grants and  (b) budgeting loans in the last 12 months.

Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 24 April 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking about the average time that Jobcentre Plus took to process applications for Community Care Grants and Budgeting Loans, in the last 12 months. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The time it takes to process both Community Care Grant and Budgeting Loan applications, is measured by counting the average length of time taken to clear all claims processed within a set period (usually monthly). The measure is referred to as the Average Actual Clearance Time.
	The clearance time for an individual application is measured in whole working days from the date the application is received to the date the decision is taken (on whether to make a Community Care Grant award or a Budgeting Loan offer), plus, if a Budgeting Loan offer is made, the number of whole working days between receiving the applicant's reply to the offer and the recording of that reply. The minimum clearance time recorded for an individual Community Care Grant or Budgeting Loan application is one day, even if the application is cleared immediately.
	The expected service level for Community Care Grants is nine days and for Budgeting Loans it is six days.
	The information requested is in the tables.
	
		
			  National monthly community care grant average actual clearance times in days 
			   Days 
			  2006  
			 February 7.5 
			 March 7.5 
			 April 9.0 
			 May 10.4 
			 June 9.7 
			 July 8.9 
			 August 9.5 
			 September 10.4 
			 October 10.0 
			 November 8.9 
			 December 9.0 
			 January 9.1 
		
	
	
		
			  National monthly budgeting loan average actual clearance times in days 
			   Days 
			  2006  
			 February 2.4 
			 March 2.4 
			 April 2.7 
			 May 3.4 
			 June 3.7 
			 July 3.3 
			 August 3.6 
			 September 3.5 
			 October 3.3 
			 November 3.5 
			 December 3.7 
			 January 3.2 
			  Note:  The Average Actual Clearance Time is obtained by dividing the total number of working days from all applications by the number of applications  Source:  The Jobcentre Plus MI Portal 
		
	
	I hope this is helpful.

Jobseekers Allowance: Lone Parents

Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost would be of implementing the jobseeker's allowance regime for all lone parents whose youngest child is aged 12 and over.

Jim Murphy: The total estimated cost of implementing a jobseeker's allowance (JSA) regime for lone parents with children aged 12 and over is between £6 million and £10 million. The final figure would be dependent on whether lone parents leave JSA at the same speed as current female JSA claimants, current income support lone parent claimants, or somewhere in between.

New Deal for Long Term Unemployed

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people left the New Deal 25 plus for employment in each month since 1998.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 1 March 2007
	The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  New Deal 25 plus 
			   Number of leavers to employment 
			  2001  
			 April 140 
			 May 460 
			 June 1,010 
			 July 990 
			 August 1,490 
			 September 1,710 
			 October 1,780 
			 November 2,220 
			 December 970 
			   
			  2002  
			 January 1,690 
			 February 2,000 
			 March 2,520 
			 April 2,140 
			 May 2,680 
			 June 1,990 
			 July 2,180 
			 August 2,720 
			 September 2,420 
			 October 2,430 
			 November 2,720 
			 December 1,340 
			   
			  2003  
			 January 2,510 
			 February 2,340 
			 March 2,450 
			 April 2,340 
			 May 2,930 
			 June 2,570 
			 July 2,420 
			 August 2,960 
			 September 2,780 
			 October 3,240 
			 November 2,300 
			 December 1,460 
			   
			  2004  
			 January 2,600 
			 February 2,600 
			 March 2,590 
			 April 2,930 
			 May 2,600 
			 June 2,500 
			 July 3,080 
			 August 2,370 
			 September 2,720 
			 October 3,500 
			 November 2,560 
			 December 1,840 
			   
			  2005  
			 January 2,370 
			 February 2,400 
			 March 2,390 
			 April 2,790 
			 May 2,170 
			 June 2,100 
			 July 2,570 
			 August 1,930 
			 September 2,660 
			 October 2,010 
			 November 1,980 
			 December 1,500 
			   
			  2006  
			 January 1,610 
			 February 1,740 
			 March 2,360 
			 April 1,540 
			 May 1,670 
			 June 2,090 
			 July 1,660 
			 August 1,650 
			  Notes:  1. Data on leavers are only available from April 2001.  2. Latest information is to August 2006.  3. Figures are rounded to nearest 10.   Source:  Information Directorate, Department for Work and Pensions.

New Deal for Young People

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people returned to the new deal for young people (NDYP) having completed 13 weeks employment and having previously left the NDYP in each quarter since 1998.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 2 March 2007
	The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  New deal for young people 
			   People starting new deal for young people  O f which :  people who had previously left new deal for young people to a sustained job 
			  Quarter  Number  Number  Percentage 
			 January to March 1998 10,430 — 0 
			 April to June 1998 53,270 10 0 
			 July to September 1998 43,420 90 0 
			 October to December 1998 29,880 160 1 
			 January to March 1999 34,980 510 1 
			 April to June 1999 31,100 1,130 4 
			 July to September 1999 33,440 2,220 7 
			 October to December 1999 28,620 2,800 10 
			 January to March 2000 35,290 4,140 12 
			 April to June 2000 29,320 4,380 15 
			 July to September 2000 27,900 4,660 17 
			 October to December 2000 22,910 3,910 17 
			 January to March 2001 31,310 4,960 16 
			 April to June 2001 27,090 5,190 19 
			 July to September 2001 27,290 5,460 20 
			 October to December 2001 21,540 4,280 20 
			 January to March 2002 29,990 5,680 19 
			 April to June 2002 28,640 5,850 20 
			 July to September 2002 28,720 5,750 20 
			 October to December 2002 24,010 4,730 20 
			 January to March 2003 33,370 5,970 18 
			 April to June 2003 31,360 6,310 20 
			 July to September 2003 33,440 6,520 19 
			 October to December 2003 25,960 4,870 19 
			 January to March 2004 33,630 5,830 17 
			 April to June 2004 29,660 5,240 18 
			 July to September 2004 29,440 5,230 18 
			 October to December 2004 25,930 4,340 17 
			 January to March 2005 30,540 4,730 15 
			 April to June 2005 32,530 5,320 16 
			 July to September 2005 39,590 6,390 16 
			 October to December 2005 33,370 5,260 16 
			 January to March 2006 47,380 6,540 14 
			 April to June 2006 45,690 6,680 15 
			 July to September 2006 48,290 6,880 14 
			  Notes: 1. Latest full quarter data is to September 2006. 2. Data record the quarter in which people returned to new deal for young people having previously left the programme to sustained employment. 3. Sustained employment under new deal for young people is defined as not returning to claim jobseeker's allowance for at least 13 weeks. 4. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: Information Directorate, Department for Work and Pensions

New Deal Schemes

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many participants there were on the New Deal for Disabled People in each month since January 1998; how many participants had participated on at least one previous occasion; and how many gained employment as a result of their participation in the New Deal for Disabled People.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 6 March 2007
	 The new deal for disabled people programme started in July 2001. Since then 21,000 people have participated on the programme on more than one occasion and 124,300 people have gained a job.
	The number of participants on new deal for disabled people in each month since the start of the programme is in the table.
	
		
			  New deal for disabled people 
			   Participants 
			 July 2001 1,410 
			 August 2001 2,780 
			 September 2001 3,720 
			 October 2001 4,760 
			 November 2001 6,510 
			 December 2001 7,360 
			 January 2002 8,750 
			 February 2002 10,630 
			 March 2002 13,010 
			 April 2002 15,210 
			 May 2002 18,030 
			 June 2002 19,820 
			 July 2002 22,030 
			 August 2002 24,490 
			 September 2002 26,770 
			 October 2002 29,050 
			 November 2002 31,770 
			 December 2002 32,710 
			 January 2003 34,730 
			 February 2003 37,120 
			 March 2003 39,550 
			 April 2003 41,200 
			 May 2003 43,040 
			 June 2003 45,170 
			 July 2003 47,320 
			 August 2003 49,420 
			 September 2003 51,740 
			 October 2003 54,040 
			 November 2003 55,500 
			 December 2003 56,150 
			 January 2004 57,960 
			 February 2004 60,110 
			 March 2004 62,540 
			 April 2004 65,420 
			 May 2004 68,670 
			 June 2004 71,590 
			 July 2004 75,790 
			 August 2004 78,750 
			 September 2004 82,040 
			 October 2004 85,800 
			 November 2004 88,540 
			 December 2004 89,670 
			 January 2005 92,160 
			 February 2005 95,360 
			 March 2005 98,130 
			 April 2005 101,630 
			 May 2005 104,110 
			 June 2005 106,250 
			 July 2005 109,380 
			 August 2005 112,110 
			 September 2005 115,910 
			 October 2005 119,100 
			 November 2005 122,210 
			 December 2005 123,500 
			 January 2006 126,660 
			 February 2006 130,490 
			 March 2006 134,580 
			 April 2006 137,640 
			 May 2006 140,720 
			 June 2006 144,110 
			 July 2006 147,550 
			 August 2006 151,530 
			  Notes: 1. Latest data are to August 2006. 2. Figures are rounded to nearest 10.  Source: Information Directorate, Department for Work and Pensions.

Social Security Benefits: Telephone Services

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many calls to the benefit theft hotline were  (a) answered and  (b) unanswered in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available.

James Plaskitt: The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Month  Calls answered  Calls abandoned( 1) 
			  2006   
			 February 21,351 731 
			 March 20,887 731 
			 April 12,737 179 
			 May 15,387 203 
			 June 20,327 328 
			 July 16,819 199 
			 August 20,513 241 
			 September 14,295 212 
			 October 15,784 1,046 
			 November 22,653 635 
			 December 11,118 301 
			
			  2007   
			 January 19,574 560 
			 (1) Calls abandoned include calls whereby the customer hangs up prior to the call being answered by an NBFH agent.  Note: Data include external partners Broad Systems performance as they provide NBFH services during out of hours, they are not part of Jobcentre Plus.  Source: National Benefit Fraud Hotline

Tattooing: Plastic Surgery

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received on public funding for private companies and charities to offer claimants tattoo removal.

Jim Murphy: No representations have been received on public funding for private companies and charities to offer claimants tattoo removal.

Welfare State

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received on the conclusions of the Freud report on the welfare systems in  (a) Australia,  (b) New Zealand,  (c) the US and  (d) the rest of the world.

Jim Murphy: No representations have been received on David Freud's conclusions about the welfare systems of these countries or the rest of the world. The Government will be responding to David Freud's review in the summer, and will invite people to make representations as part of that process.

Welfare-to-work Strategy

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will  (a) put in place a mechanism for independent scrutiny of the Government's long-term review of its welfare to work strategy; and  (b) if he will ensure that provision is made for third parties to contribute to the review.

Jim Murphy: David Freud's report, "Reducing dependency, increasing opportunity: options for the future of welfare to work", was published on 5 March. The Government welcome the report and will respond to its recommendations in due course. As part of this process, we will set out how third parties can make representations.